The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, condemned the U.S. Supreme Court, the Missouri court system and that state’s Governor Michael Lynn Parson for failing to block the execution of wrongfully-convicted death row inmate Imam Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams, who was executed this evening.
Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson would have granted the request to block his execution.
In his last statement, Williams wrote, “All Praise Be To Allah In Every Situation.” According to the Missouri Department of Corrections, his last meal included chicken wings and tater tots. His last visit was with Imam Jalahii Kacem.
More than 60,000 people signed CAIR’s action alert calling on Governor Parson to stop the execution.
CAIR thanked the Innocence project for its immense work on this case and for being a leading advocate challenging the unjust use of the death penalty.
In a statement, CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell said:
“We belong to God and to Him shall we return. By condemning Imam Marcellus Williams to death despite the fact that even the prosecuting attorney has argued that his case was marred by constitutional error and that DNA evidence indicates his innocence, the U.S. Supreme Court and the Missouri court system have committed a grave offense against humanity.
“We strongly condemn this heinous and unjust execution, which will stain the reputation of our legal system for years to come. We encourage all American Muslims to pray for Imam Williams. May God reward him for responding to decades of injustice with steadfastness, and may God grant him the highest rank of Paradise.”
BACKGROUNDER:
Williams, a 55-year-old African American Muslim who served as the Imam of his prison unit, was executed by lethal injection at the state prison in Bonne Terre, Missouri, despite DNA evidence that exonerated him and constitutional errors at his 1998 trial.
Recent DNA testing “conclusively exonerated” Williams as far back as 2017, when then-Governor Eric Greitens blocked his execution due to DNA tests showing the DNA of an unidentified individual on the murder weapon. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell filed a motion to vacate his conviction after the new DNA testing results revealed that the alleged murder weapon had been mishandled during his trial.
Despite this evidence, and clear constitutional errors in his case, Judge Bruce Hilton denied the request to vacate Williams’ conviction and death sentence.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com