Malcolm X once said in one of his fiery speeches “To have once been a criminal is no disgrace, to remain a criminal is the disgrace.”
Who then takes the disgrace if you were never a criminal in the first place. This seems to be the case of Marcellus ‘Khalifa’ Williams, 55, who the State of Missouri executed a few minutes after 7:00 ET pm (11:00 GMT pm) yesterday, September 24
Malcolm was rightly jailed for burglary and came out a better man after learning of Elijah Muhammed beginning his journey to become a Muslim minister. Marcellus also found Islam and journeyed to become an Imam after he had been sentenced to death for the first-degree murder of Felicia Gayle Picus on August 27, 2001.
In 1998, Gayle, a 42-year-old social worker and former journalist for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, was brutally murdered in her University City, Missouri, home, having been stabbed 43 times.
At Williams’ trial, prosecutors argued that he broke into Gayle’s home on August 11, 1998, and, hearing the shower running, found a butcher knife and attacked her as she came downstairs. They noted that her purse and her husband’s laptop were taken. Authorities claimed Williams used a jacket to hide blood on his shirt, and his (now ex) girlfriend, Ms Asaro later reported seeing the stolen items in his car. Williams allegedly sold the laptop shortly after the crime.
In 2016, DNA testing on the knife found at the crime scene excluded Williams as the source of male DNA. Three DNA experts reviewed the evidence and confirmed its findings.
Due to this, former Governor Eric Greitens intervened in August 2017 just hours before Williams’ scheduled execution, postponing it due to the new DNA evidence. Greitens established a board to investigate the case further, allowing for a review of all evidence, including newly discovered DNA. However, the board’s findings were never made public, and it was dissolved by Governor Parson without clarification on any recommendations.
While no forensic and DNA evidence connected Williams to the murder, the Gayle case remains unsolved like Malcolm’s, and Marcellus prosecutors relied mainly on two incentivized witnesses with a questionable history.
The second “key” testimony came from Henry Cole, a former cellmate of Williams, who claimed that Williams confessed to him, revealing details of the murder.
Cole had a reputation for dishonesty, having initially refused to testify until promised payment from prosecutors. His statements mirrored information that was publicly available, raising questions about their authenticity. Asaro also had a dubious history, having faced solicitation charges and previously lying under oath.
Williams’ defense team pointed out that both Cole and his girlfriend had felony convictions and were motivated by the promise of a $10,000 reward. They emphasized that crucial evidence, such as fingerprints and DNA, did not match Williams, and a crime scene investigator confirmed that the perpetrator wore gloves.
We can continue to draw parallels between Malcolm and Marcellus. As Malcolm gained freedom from prison and chained himself to the activism for black freedom, Marcellus found freedom while in chains by writing poetry to encourage other inmates in a similar stead.
One of his poems (which is now lost) was to Melissa Lucio, another innocent inmate on death row. Another poem of his is captured by Midwest Innocence Project, one of the organizations with professionals on his legal team. Others professionals and organizations are the Innocence Project, Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, and the Federal Defender and attorney Kent Gipson, and his attorney Tricia Rojo Bushnell.
Due to errors in the evidence, the prosecuting attorney Wesley Bell filed a motion to vacate Marcellus Williams’ conviction for the 1998 murder of Felicia Gayle made earlier in January 2024. This decision followed a thorough case review, which included new DNA evidence exonerating Mr. Williams. The murder weapon’s DNA analysis did not match Mr. Williams, casting significant doubt on his involvement.
Notably, the victim’s family also expressed opposition to Mr. Williams’ execution. Despite the lack of credible evidence linking Mr. Williams to the crime, Attorney General Andrew Bailey staunchly resisted efforts to vacate the conviction. Bailey continued to push for Mr. Williams’ execution.
Missouri Governor Mike Parson also seemed to be keen on the execution who after denying Marcellus’ clemency request made this statement after his execution. “I follow the law and trust the integrity of our judicial system. Mr. Williams has exhausted due process, including over 15 hearings to assert his innocence and overturn his conviction.”
Considering he had already been confined wrongfully, Marcellus knew his end was a possibility and never put his faith in the system but God. In a video, he said, ” Like I said before, I don’t believe in the system, the criminal justice system. But I know that it can be used for good as well. So if good comes out for me and my family, and for all those that have been supporting me, then all praise to Allah.”
In all this, Marcellus didn’t waver in his devotion to Allah. Though he had trying times like Malcom when he found out about Elijah Muhammed’s affairs and threats from the Nation of Islam, the only change that the challenges caused both was a change of name. Malcolm X became Malik el-Shabazz and Marcellus became Khaliifah and his last statement at execution says the state of his heart till eternity: “All Praise Be To Allah In Every Situation!!!”
