Williams long maintained his innocence and the killing was opposed by victim’s family, jurors and office that tried him

Missouri executed a man on death row on Tuesday, despite objections from prosecutors who sought to have his conviction overturned and have supported his claims of innocence.

Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams, 55, was killed by lethal injection, ending a legal battle that has sparked widespread outrage as the office that originally tried the case suggested he was wrongfully convicted.

In an extraordinary move condemned by civil rights advocates and lawmakers across the US, Missouri’s Republican attorney general, Andrew Bailey, pushed forward with the execution against the wishes of the St Louis county prosecuting attorney’s office.

  • NFord@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Abolish the death penalty. It only exists to satiate the blood lust of politicians and is more expensive than life imprisonment (when people are actually guilty).

    • Paddzr@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Not arguing against what you said, but why does death penalty cost more than imprisoning for say 20 or more years?

      • Regna@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        He was (likely) wrongfully imprisoned for a crime that occurred 26 years ago. So it’s both long imprisonment and the costs of trying to overturn the conviction, including fact seeking, labs, lawyers, prosecutors, judges etc.

        • SeaJ@lemm.ee
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          2 months ago

          The imprisonment is generally at a higher security facility too which is costlier.

  • fadingembers@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    2 months ago

    This country is pure evil and rotten to its core. There is no redemption for us. No one will come to save us. It is only going to get worse.

  • HeyJoe@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Fuck every single person who was involved in allowing this innocent man to die. I would really like for karma to be real and that these people pay for their actions because from where I sit, they were the only people to actually murder someone here.

    • ShareMySims@sh.itjust.works
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      2 months ago

      I would really like for karma to be real

      It isn’t, and things will never change as long as people pin their hopes on the higher power of their choosing to make things right instead of taking action to make sure it does (if you live locally and are able, go protest at this guy’s fucking house, if you’re not, donate to a fund made by locals taking action against him. Support organisations like the innocence project, if you have a prison local to you, see if there is anyone in it who is wrongly imprisoned and could use the support, the options are endless, and every single one will do more than hoping “karma” does its thing).

      I get that you don’t mean any malice, but this kind of thinking is as effective as “thoughts and prayers”.

  • danc4498@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    This is a great reason why we should NEVER allow the death penalty. Nobody that mattered wanted it. But because it was the sentence, and blood hungry sadists were in charge, this guy died.

  • Suavevillain@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    This racist country and system will never change. So many evil ghoulish people in power. RIP Marcellus. I’m thankful how hard people fought to save a life collectively. I don’t want to be in full despair. But this level of defeat is painful nothing we do changes the minds of these people.

  • MrWafflesNBacon@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Other than the state and Andrew Bailey being a utter piece of elephant shit with bunny shit sprinkles on top, may he rest in peace and hopefully his family can seek actual justice someday in some form.