The state of Mississippi executed 55-year-old inmate Marcellus Williams on Tuesday night, despite calls from both the prosecutor’s office and the victim’s family to halt his execution.
Williams, who was convicted of the 1998 murder of Felicia Gayle, was put to death by lethal injection at 6:10 pm CT on Tuesday, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections. He maintained his innocence throughout his 23 years in prison.
The execution came after a string of last-minute attempts to spare Williams’ life. His attorneys filed a number of appeals, citing jury selection bias and a lack of DNA evidence on the murder weapon. The U.S. Supreme Court, the final body that could have stopped Williams’ execution, then denied his attorneys’ last request on Tuesday, with all three liberal justices dissenting.
The decision by the high court’s right-wing majority came after Missouri’s Supreme Court and Republican Gov. Michael Parson also rejected requests to delay the execution.
“Mr. Williams has exhausted due process and every judicial avenue, including over 15 hearings attempting to argue his innocence and overturn his conviction. No jury nor court, including at the trial, appellate, and Supreme Court levels, have ever found merit in Mr. Williams’ innocence claims,” Parson said in a statement.