Dream Wired
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Celebrity
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • TV
  • Music
  • Comics
  • Shop
  • Home
  • Celebrity
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • TV
  • Music
  • Comics
  • Shop
No Result
View All Result
Dream Wired
No Result
View All Result
Home Celebrity

Despite Claims of Innocence, Marcellus Williams Faces Execution Today In Missouri – Essence

rmtsa by rmtsa
September 24, 2024
in Celebrity
0
Despite Claims of Innocence, Marcellus Williams Faces Execution Today In Missouri – Essence
74
SHARES
1.2k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


You might also like

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Found Not Guilty Of Racketeering

#ESSENCEFest: National Urban League Luncheon

Inside Mielle Organics’ Essence Festival 2025 Pop-Up – Essence

Photo: Marcellus Williams Legal Team

Marcellus Williams, a Missouri death row inmate, is facing execution on Tuesday despite maintaining his innocence for 24 years. His legal team has filed a clemency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, highlighting concerns about potential risks of executing an innocent person.

Williams, 55, was convicted of the 1998 murder of Felicia Gayle. Despite his insistence of innocence as ESSENCE has previously reported, his lethal injection is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT at Bonne Terre state prison unless the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes.

This case has raised significant concerns about the potential risk of executing an innocent person, an unfortunate possibility inherent in capital punishment. Since 1973, over 200 people who were sentenced to death have been exonerated, with four of them in Missouri, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. In light of these statistics, the NAACP and the Council on American-Islamic Relations have urged Governor Mike Parson to halt Williams’ execution.

Over the weekend, Williams’ lawyers and the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell filed a joint brief requesting the state Supreme Court to return the case to a lower court for a more comprehensive hearing. This hearing would address Bell’s earlier motion to vacate Williams’ 2001 conviction and sentence, filed in January.

During a hearing on Monday, the Missouri Supreme Court ultimately decided against stopping Williams’ execution. They concluded that the prosecutor did not provide “clear and convincing evidence” of Williams’ actual innocence or any constitutional errors from the original trial that would undermine confidence in the verdict. In their opinion, since they rejected the appeal on its merits, the motion to stay the execution was deemed moot.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson emphasized that Williams has exhausted all legal avenues. “No jury nor court, including at the trial, appellate, and Supreme Court levels, have ever found merit in Mr. Williams’ innocence claims,” he said in a statement as reported by CNN. “At the end of the day, his guilty verdict and sentence of capital punishment were upheld.”

During the same hearing, Williams’ attorney, Jonathan Potts, raised concerns about potential racial bias in the jury selection process, arguing that a juror was struck from the pool simply for being a young Black man with glasses. The Missouri Attorney General’s office, however, disputed this claim, asserting that the reasons for excluding that juror were not related to race.

Tricia Rojo Bushnell, another attorney for Williams, voiced her dismay at the court’s ruling, stating, “The courts must step in to prevent this irreparable injustice.” She highlighted the urgency of the situation, claiming Missouri is on the verge of executing an innocent man, raising questions about the legitimacy of the entire criminal justice system.

In his statement, Wesley Bell reiterated the need for caution. “Even for those who disagree on the death penalty, when there is a shadow of a doubt of any defendant’s guilt, the irreversible punishment of execution should not be an option,” he said.



Source link

Tags: ClaimsEssenceExecutionFacesInnocenceMarcellusMissouriTodayWilliams
Share30Tweet19
rmtsa

rmtsa

Recommended For You

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Found Not Guilty Of Racketeering

by rmtsa
July 7, 2025
0
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Found Not Guilty Of Racketeering

Source: Getty / General UPDATE — Tuesday, July 2, 2025, 11:38 a.m. EST: The jury in the federal trial against Sean “Diddy” Combs has found the hip-hop mogul not...

Read more

#ESSENCEFest: National Urban League Luncheon

by rmtsa
July 6, 2025
0
#ESSENCEFest: National Urban League Luncheon

It was glitz, glam, and Black girl greatness at its finest as the National Urban League hosted its 6th annual Women in Harmony Awards Luncheon on Saturday, one...

Read more

Inside Mielle Organics’ Essence Festival 2025 Pop-Up – Essence

by rmtsa
July 6, 2025
0
Inside Mielle Organics’ Essence Festival 2025 Pop-Up – Essence

Photos by Keaton Greene. When you step foot into Mielle’s Essence Festival pop-up, AKA the Beauty Rewind Salon, you’re instantly transported back to the ’90s. In other words,...

Read more

Why No Woman Should Be Shamed For Having An Abortion

by rmtsa
July 5, 2025
0
Why No Woman Should Be Shamed For Having An Abortion

Source: Brit Eady + Kelli Ferrell Having an abortion is not a character flaw, but Real Housewives of Atlanta star Brit Eady doesn’t seem to know that. She chose to expose her...

Read more

Zeke’s Mom Questions His Interracial Relationship

by rmtsa
July 5, 2025
0
Zeke’s Mom Questions His Interracial Relationship

BOSSIP has an exclusive clip from the latest episode of The Chi, where Phylicia Rashad makes her debut as a no-nonsense mom calling her son (and his interracial...

Read more
Next Post
Cineplex slapped with record .9M fine over online booking fee – National

Cineplex slapped with record $38.9M fine over online booking fee - National

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Browse by Category

  • Celebrity
  • Comics
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • Music
  • TV
  • Uncategorized

CATEGORIES

  • Celebrity
  • Comics
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • Music
  • TV
  • Uncategorized
No Result
View All Result

Recent News

  • ‘The Gilded Age’ Season 3 Episode 3: Phylicia Rashad’s Role Explained
  • Gia Giudice Calls On Donald Trump To Pardon Her Father Joe
  • RHOA’s Shamea Morton & Kandi Burruss Like Pro-Diddy Posts

Copyright © 2023 DramaWired.
DramaWired is a content aggregator and not responsible for the content of external sites.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Celebrity
  • DramaAlert
  • Gossip
  • Movie
  • TV
  • Music
  • Comics
  • Shop

Copyright © 2023 DramaWired.
DramaWired is a content aggregator and not responsible for the content of external sites.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In