State-sanctioned Murder?

I have a friend who calls the death penalty “state-sanctioned murder.”

That may sound extreme, but it’s something to think about.

By use of the death penalty the state is essentially saying “We’re going to murder murderers to discourage murder.” Really?

Worse, it seems that sometimes executing a person takes precedence over executing justice.

Which brings us to the state-sanctioned killing of Marcellus Williams on Sept. 24.

The prosecutor’s office didn’t want Williams executed. They were concerned that he may not have received a fair trial, so they agreed to a plea bargain that would have resulted in life imprison without parole.

And thousands of citizens and faith leaders who petitioned the governor for a stay of execution didn’t want Williams executed.

Even the family of the woman Williams was accused of killing didn’t want him executed.

And, of course, Williams himself didn’t want to be executed, maintaining his innocence to the end. By many accounts he had a positive influence on fellow inmates as a Muslim imam during 23 years on death row.

So who DID want Williams executed? The two people who could have most readily prevented the execution instead actively promoted it.

Andrew Bailey, Missouri’s Republican attorney general, was a key player. He successfully petitioned the Missouri Supreme Court to throw out William’s plea bargain reached with the county prosecuting attorney. Then he actively pursued William’s execution.

The Republican governor of Missouri, Mike Parsons, also wanted Williams executed. Parsons disbanded the board set up by his predecessor to review Williams’ case, then pushed for the execution to proceed.

Without the initiative of these two state officials, Marcellus Williams would still be alive.

One can only speculate what their motivations might have been as they signed Williams’ death warrant. But I saw a sign recently that says it all for me. At a rally that featured three exonerated death row inmates the message was clear:

“You can free an innocent person from prison. But you can’t free an innocent person from the grave.”