'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFQABAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAf/xAAUAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA/9oADAMBAAIQAxAAAACWSkP/xAAgEAABAgYDAQAAAAAAAAAAAAADAgUAAQQGERMHMVJi/9oACAEBAAE/ALnYmi3uGrRcSNtGd3eiHMmq2mzrl6T8wpWVTn1H/8QAFREBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH/2gAIAQIBAT8Ar//EABURAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR/9oACAEDAQE/AK//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Busta Rhymes recently criticized the execution of death row inmate Marcellus Williams, who died by lethal injection at a Bonne Terre state prison on September 24, 2024. In 2001, Williams was convicted for the murder of reporter and social worker Felicia Gayle. She was fatally stabbed 43 times in her home in Missouri in 1998.
Busta Rhymes made a plea to save Williams' life hours before the execution. Following the Supreme Court ruling to order the capital punishment, the rapper took to Instagram on September 25 to dub the execution "An Unfathomable Travesty."
"An Unfathomable Travesty has transpired today with the Death of an Innocent Man. You didn’t get your Justice here so make sure you serve your Justice from where you are Almighty," he wrote in the caption.
Marcellus Williams maintained his innocence for the two decades he was on death row. His attorney and the prosecution filed a joint brief on September 21 requesting a "more comprehensive hearing" in a lower court. The victim's family also agreed to a life imprisonment sentence for Williams before the execution was ordered.
The murder weapon Marcellus Williams allegedly used had been contaminated
On August 11, 1998, Felicia Gayle was found fatally stabbed at her home. In 2001, Marcellus Williams was convicted of her murder, with prosecutors saying that he broke into her home and stabbed her with a butcher knife multiple times. Her body was found by her husband, Daniel, and her purse and husband's laptop had allegedly been stolen.
In 1999, Gayle's family promised a $10,000 reward to anyone who came forward with information about her death. Following this, Lara Asaro, Williams' then-girlfriend, claimed she saw the stolen laptop and purse in his car.
Another alleged witness, Henry Cole, also pointed to Williams being the murderer, claiming he had confessed to him when the two were cellmates in 1999. Williams was in jail for armed robbery then.
In 2001, Marcellus Williams was convicted of Gayle's murder and he was placed on death row at Missouri's Potosi Correctional Center. His stay of execution was granted in 2015 and 2017. In appeals, his lawyers claimed that the DNA found in the murder weapon did not match Williams. In January 2024, St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell filed a motion to vacate Williams' execution.
He pointed to a new analysis of the murder weapon, which revealed that the DNA on the weapon did not belong to Williams. The DNA reportedly matched that of an investigator and assistant prosecuting attorney who handled the weapon without using gloves. However, the Supreme Court moved forward with the execution order. Williams' capital punishment was fixed for September 24, 2024.
Williams was denied clemency on the day of his execution, and he was put to death by lethal injection at 6 pm CT. His final meal was tater tots and chicken wings. Marcellus Williams was a devout Muslim who found religion while on death row, and his last reported statement was:
"All praise be to Allah in every situation!”
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 16 prisoners across eight states have been executed in the US in 2024. Marcellus Williams' execution opened new conversations surrounding capital punishment, with many people firmly believing he was innocent.
