#Innocence Project

[bloodyke]

"Robert Roberson is an innocent father with autism who has spent over 20 years on death row in Texas for a crime that never occurred. Mr. Roberson was committed to being a present father to his chronically ill two-year-old daughter Nikki when he was granted custody in November 2001. Tragically, Nikki passed away from prior medical conditions after a short fall from bed, and Mr. Roberson was wrongfully convicted of her death.

The overwhelming medical and scientific evidence now shows that Nikki died of accidental and natural causes. Mr. Roberson’s innocence case is attracting growing and widespread support from eminent scientists, doctors, faith leaders, innocence groups, former federal judges, best-selling novelist John Grisham, and the lead detective who testified for the prosecution, who now believes he contributed to an innocent person being sent to death row."

[rolandtowen]

In 11 days, Texas is set to execute a man for a crime that never happened

This is Robert Roberson. He has been sitting on Texas' death row for over twenty years after being convicted of murdering his daughter.

The problem? The murder never happened.

Robert was convicted based on the discredited and outdated diagnosis of "shaken baby syndrome", which argued that babies could die from shaking that doesn't leave signs of physical trauma. Robert is also autistic, and his mannerisms lead hospital staff to suspect abuse. There is no evidence that Robert murdered his daughter, Nikki. Killing Robert is not justice.

Please click the link above to sign a petition asking Gov. Greg Abbott to halt Robert's execution. I will also link below to a news article with further information about the case.

[odinsblog]

The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, who had sought to have the conviction overturned, said, “This outcome did not serve the interests of justice.”

“Marcellus Williams should be alive today,” Bell said in a statement. “There were multiple points in the timeline when decisions could have been made that would have spared him the death penalty. If there is even the shadow of a doubt of innocence, the death penalty should never be an option.”

Earlier efforts to halt the execution were denied Monday by the Missouri Supreme Court and Republican Gov. Mike Parson. His execution is the third in Missouri this year, and among five taking place nationwide across a seven-day span if the remaining three are carried out on schedule, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson said they would have granted the request to halt the execution.

“Tonight, Missouri will execute an innocent man,” said attorney Tricia Rojo Bushnell of the Midwest Innocence Project in a statement after the Supreme Court ruling.

“...The victim's family opposes his execution. Jurors, who originally sentenced him to death, now oppose his execution. The prosecutor's office that convicted and sentenced him to death has now admitted they were wrong and zealously fought to undo the conviction and save Mr. Williams' life.”

“That is not justice. And we must all question any system that would allow this to occur,” Bushnell said.

—Missouri executes Marcellus Williams despite questions over evidence

[gwydionmisha]

Please sign the petition in the article above.

Short Explainer Below:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Mr. Ernest Crim III (@mrcrim3)

[lostmementomemori]

Joseph 'Joe' Arridy (April 29, 1915 - January 6, 1939) was wrongfully convicted and executed for the murder of Dorthy Drain, at the time 15 years old, in Pueblo, Colorado, his natal city. He was mentally disabled, and the police manipulated him to make a false confession. He was only 23 years old at the time. due to his mental disabilities, he didn't understand the concept of death or being executed, which had to be explained to him several times in different ways. He was executed by gas chamber. Joe only received a full and unconditional posthumous pardon by Colorado Governor Bill Ritter 72 years after his death.

[alanshemper]

[24 Sept 2024]

Tonight, Missouri executed an innocent man.

Our hearts are with the family and friends of Marcellus Williams and Felicia Gayle, who have suffered unimaginable loss and trauma.

Mr. Williams’ story echoes that of too many others caught in our country’s broken criminal legal system. A Black man convicted of killing a white woman, Mr. Williams maintained his innocence until the very end. His conviction was based on the testimony of two eyewitnesses who were paid for their testimony. No DNA evidence linked him to the crime. And the current St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney acknowledged that errors made by the trial prosecutors – including mishandling the murder weapon and intentionally excluding Black prospective jurors in violation of the Constitution – contributed to a wrongful conviction.

[rebel-girl-queen-of-my-world]

Missouri Governor Parson refused to grant clemency to Marcellus Williams.

The US government executed an innocent man today.

Marcellus Williams, who was also an imam, wrote this poem for Palestine:

[aria-i-adagio]

Marcellus Williams is scheduled to be executed on September 24 for a crime DNA proves he did not commit. The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney reviewed these DNA results and filed a motion to vacate Mr. Williams’s conviction because he believed the DNA results proved by clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Williams did not commit this crime. Although the circuit court has not yet scheduled a hearing to address this motion–and no court has ever considered the new exculpatory evidence — the Missouri Supreme Court set an execution date for Mr. Williams.

Marcellus’ legal team, including lawyers from the Innocence Project and Midwest Innocence Project, said they “will continue to fight for Mr. Williams’ exoneration and seek a hearing on the prosecutor’s motion to vacate.

Learn more and add your name to the petition. (Use the link below, the link in the infographic isn't working yet.)

[jaybee2000]

The Innocence Project is asking for your help to prevent the unjust execution of someone for a crime that even detectives agree did not occur.

The death penalty is wrong and is about to be used, again, to end the life of an innocent person.

If you are too nervous to call sign the petition and spread the word.

[brandyllyn]

Marcellus Williams* was murdered by the state of Missouri this evening.

Williams was executed for a crime he most certainly did not commit. DNA evidence cast more than reasonable doubt, the jurors have since come forward to say that had they had current evidence they would not have convicted, and even the prosecutor has tried to have the case overturned. Yet all efforts through both the judicial system and seeking a pardon failed.

If you are the type of person to still believe in the death penalty, the question is not " do some people deserve killing" but rather "can the the state be trusted to administer death as a punishment for crime?"

*(I have seen some people report that he changed his name to Khaliifah Ibn Rayford Daniels, but not from any source I fully trust as of yet)

[kidwithahelmet]

An innocent father is scheduled to be executed on October 17th.

Please help the Innocence Project in their effort to stop his execution by signing the petition, calling Governor Abbott, and sharing this post.

[tieflingkisser]

SIGN: Stop the Sept. 24 Execution of Marcellus Williams, an Innocent Man

Marcellus Williams is scheduled to be executed on Sept. 24 for a crime DNA proves he did not commit. The St. Louis County prosecuting attorney reviewed these DNA results and filed a motion to vacate Mr. Williams’ conviction because he believed the DNA results proved by clear and convincing evidence that Mr. Williams did not commit this crime. Although the circuit court has not yet scheduled a hearing to address this motion — and no court has ever considered the new exculpatory evidence — the Missouri Supreme Court set an execution date for Mr. Williams.

DNA clears Marcellus Williams of murder. Why is Missouri hell-bent on killing him? | Opinion

It is so easy to schedule an execution for an innocent man on death row. And it is incredibly hard, under the law in place in so much of the United States, to reopen the case of a person who has shown powerful evidence of innocence. Even DNA evidence of innocence is no surefire ticket to freedom. The case of Marcellus Williams is a chilling reminder that decades into the era of modern post-conviction DNA testing, exonerations and innocence projects — an innocence revolution — some attorneys general and judges would rather execute the innocent than admit error. The Missouri Supreme Court has set a Sept. 24 execution date in Williams’ case. Yet, post-conviction DNA tests show that Williams did not commit the crime.

[...]

Marcellus Williams’ case has the same flaws as the cases of those already exonerated by DNA. In 1998, a former St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter was stabbed to death in her home. Years later, independent labs performed DNA tests on the knife used as the murder weapon. The tests cleared Williams as the source of the male DNA found on that knife. And like in so many cases, the DNA test excluding the person highlighted how little evidence had been presented at Williams’ trial. The perpetrator had left other forensic evidence at the scene, including a bloody shoe print and hairs. Williams was excluded as the source of all those items. How could he even be convicted, much less sentenced to death in the first place? The only evidence of guilt came from two shady informants, who had been rewarded with promises of leniency and money, and who claimed at trial that Williams had confessed to them.

[bunnykitty13]

I would urge anyone who has time to spare today to check this out, as of writing this (3 pm CST on sep 24th, 2024) marcellus williams is set to be executed today for a crime he did not commit.

the gov of Missouri has denied the appeal to cancel his execution despite concerns for racial bias and DNA evidence disproving the validity of his conviction. please, keep calling/texting/emailing while there is still time! thank you

[nappingpaperclip]

Please repost 🙏

Marcellus Williams government sponsored lynching is scheduled today at 6PM

PLEASE call, email, tweet, as much as you can. His trial was unfair and unconstitutional, and there is no excuse to execute this person while his case is actively being investigated by the Missouri Supreme Court. There is never an excuse or need to give someone a time limit on proving their innocence.

417-373-3400