Victims' family against

US inmate executed – despite doubts about guilt

Marcellus Williams was executed by lethal injection.(Bild: Krone KREATIV/APA/AP, Missouri Department of Corrections)

A 55-year-old convicted murderer has been executed by lethal injection in the US state of Missouri. This was announced by the aid organization Innocence Project, which had taken on his case. Marcellus Williams was convicted of murdering a reporter in 2001. She had been found stabbed to death in her home in 1998. In recent years, considerable doubt had been cast on the convicted man's guilt.

The convicted man's lawyers had tried in vain to stop the execution. The public prosecutor's office had also argued that the 55-year-old should not be executed and should instead serve a life sentence. The victim's family had spoken out against the execution, as had the public prosecutor's office.

Defense: Witnesses not credible
One of the reasons for this is doubts about the DNA traces on the murder weapon. The convicted man had denied having killed the woman. His execution had already been stayed twice. His lawyers argue that the conviction is primarily based on two witnesses who are not credible.

(Bild: APA/St. Louis Post-DispatchLaurie Skrivanstltoday.com)

The 55-year-old black man also argued before the country's Supreme Court that the jury had discriminated against him on the basis of his skin color and had reached a biased verdict - without success. A corresponding application was rejected shortly before the execution.

Already 15 executions in the USA this year
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 15 people have been executed in the USA so far this year - including the execution in Missouri. So far, 23 of the 50 US states have abolished the death penalty. In several other states, it is de facto no longer carried out.