This was not justice—it was murder

As a Catholic, Benedictine liberal arts institution, we have a moral duty not to neglect the atrocity of what occurred Tuesday night or the injustices of the past two decades.

Missouri executed Marcellus Williams for the 1998 killing of Felicia “Licia” Gayle, who was found stabbed to death in her suburban St. Louis home.

This is the third execution this year and the 100th in the state’s history since the death penalty was reinstated in 1989, according to NBC News.

Nationwide, five executions were scheduled between last Friday and today across South Carolina, Missouri, Texas, Alabama and Oklahoma. Williams, who spent more than two decades on Missouri’s death row convicted of a 1998 murder that he said he did not commit, died by lethal injection Tuesday evening.

This was after a lengthy and complex effort to exonerate him based on DNA testing issues. His current attorneys said his conviction was built upon testimony from two unreliable witnesses who had incentives to point the finger at Williams: reward money and a bargain for shorter sentences in their criminal cases.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) has called Williams’ execution a “lynching” because of the blatant racism that allowed this to happen. But it wasn’t just a failure of one man or one moment.

This execution reflects something deeply broken in the justice system.

If Williams were a white man, would he have been tried and sentenced in the same way, or would he still be alive? We need to talk about it. I’m going to talk about it.

DNA was found on the murder weapon, yet hours before a hearing on the evidence, it was revealed that the DNA, excluding Williams, belonged to former prosecutor Keith Larner and an investigator. Years earlier, they had contaminated the weapon by handling it without gloves.

Please understand what happened here. Williams was executed despite having no credible evidence against him. Executed despite the very prosecutors who had once put him on death row requesting life in prison instead. Executed even though the victim’s family pleaded for his life to be spared. Williams’ last statement, witnessed on Saturday, was “All Praise Be to Allah in Every Situation.”

Take a minute and process that… if you can. This is appalling—and even that word feels inadequate. Is this the justice system you believe in?

I believe this is an absolute tragedy and an utter failure not just of the system but the United States as a whole. Right now, I struggle to find the words.

He was a stranger to me, but that’s the point, isn’t it?

Being human means valuing every life, no matter the race, ethnicity, religion, social class, gender, age, sexual orientation or citizenship of a person.

Regardless of your differences, you stand up for what’s right, always. Although we cannot change what has been done, as Bennies and Johnnies, we are world leaders—future lawyers, doctors, scientists, artists, business owners, environmentalists and more.

We don’t stand by. We act. Educate yourself now so that when you’re in a position to create change, you will lead unapologetically.

I refuse to let this murder be forgotten, and neither should you.

There are countless layers to this tragedy, and one piece cannot capture all the dignity Marcellus Williams deserved.

May his soul rest in peace—and may we, as a community, never forget.