After years of fighting to prove his innocence, 55-year-old Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams was executed in Missouri on Tuesday, leaving behind a touching and simple message as his last statement.
Prosecutors, Williams’ defense attorneys and the victim’s family agreed that his murder trial had been mishandled and that his life should have been spared. A groundswell of online supporters had called out the lack of evidence against him, and Williams had maintained that he was not involved in the 1998 murder for which he’d been convicted.
In spite of that, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) denied his request for clemency.
“All praise be to Allah in every situation!!!,” Williams wrote in a final statement that was filed with the state corrections department.
Marcellus Williams’ last statement, filed with the Missouri Department of Corrections.
Tricia Rojo Bushnell, Williams’ attorney, described her client in a statement before his death as a “kind and thoughtful man, who spent his last years supporting those around him in his role as Imam.”