A Black Man was Lynched Yesterday

The merciless execution of Marcellus Williams

Marcellus Williams was executed Sept. 24 by lethal injections for a crime despite his innocence.

By: Simone Trinidad and Arianna Osa-Oni

On Aug. 11, 1988, 42-year-old Lisha Gayle was brutally stabbed 43 times with a butcher knife during a daytime robbery of her home in University City, St. Louis. Despite the crime scene being rife with forensic evidence, including bloody footprints, hair, and fingerprints, police were unable to identify a suspect. 

Law enforcement’s original theory was that Gayle’s murder was the result of a robbery gone wrong. It shared similarities with another case in a nearby neighborhood that took place a few weeks prior. However, the police found no real leads, causing the investigation to stall.

Heartbroken and determined to seek justice for their daughter, the Gayle family offered a $10,000  reward for anyone who could bring evidence about their daughter’s killer. Henry Cole and Lara Asaro responded to the reward, naming Marcellus Williams as a potential suspect due to his extensive criminal record.

During their time in prison, Cole alleged that Williams disclosed information about the case. Williams was serving a 20-year sentence for robbing a donut shop. Asaro, who was Williams' girlfriend at the time, stated that he had shared details of the robbery with her and she found evidence from the crime scene in his car. Asaro provided the police with previously undisclosed information.

The two individuals who provided information about Williams were motivated by the monetary reward and may not have been entirely truthful. Not only did Cole's story continue to evolve up until the trial, aligning suspiciously with the prosecution's narrative, but his nephew later told investigators that "the whole family knew Henry was lying" and that "he wanted the money because he wanted to leave town and go to New York." Police reported that Cole had said, "Ain't no way I can get any type of money at all up front" when questioned about his testimony against Williams.

At the time of her testimony, Asaro was considered an unreliable informant. Due to her history of dishonesty and lying, law enforcement often questioned her credibility. She claimed that Williams had cleaned the murder weapon in the sink while it was found embedded in the victim's neck. According to her neighbor, Asaro was allegedly paid for her testimony against Williams.

Williams allegedly boarded a bus to University City, infiltrated Gayle's community, randomly selected her home, heard someone in the shower, searched the kitchen, stabbed Gayle multiple times, left a knife in her neck, and fled. Covered in blood, he took a bus home without raising suspicion.

During Williams's trial, no direct evidence linked him to the crime scene. Details didn't align with key witnesses' stories, including clothing items, stolen property, and more. The bloody footprints and fingerprints didn't match Williams's. A key piece of evidence was Glenn Roberts's testimony of buying a stolen Apple laptop from Williams post-robbery, but this alone wasn't enough for a conviction.

On Sept. 8, a motion to introduce DNA evidence that could potentially prove Williams's innocence was denied. Judge Bruce Hilton chose not to vacate the conviction or death sentence against Williams. The attorney general in this case, Andrew Bailey has a history of wrongful convictions that have come to light years later. This raises the question of whether Williams was targeted by a prosecutor who was eager to secure a conviction, regardless of the evidence. If Williams were to be forgiven, in his case, he would share the story of those who have been found innocent in recent years, all sharing the Attorney General Andrew Bailey. 

At 6:10 CST, Marcellus Williams was murdered by lethal injection by the State of Missouri. His final words were, "All Praise Be to Allah In Every Situation!!!” If a conviction is more important to people in law enforcement than justice, we as a society have some fundamental  things to change. The merciless lynching of Marcellus Williams could not be stopped, but there are thousands of others facing jail time and even death for crimes they did not commit. For more information on those seeking exoneration, visit: https://innocenceproject.org.