For too long, this country’s criminal legal system has perpetuated violence, brutality, and murder, with Black people bearing the brunt. While methods may change, the underlying outcomes remain the same. The modern-day manifestation of our nation’s history of anti-Black violence is perhaps most apparent in capital punishment.

Marcellus Khaliifah Williams – father, poet, and imam – is the latest victim of state-sanctioned violence. Convicted in 2001 for the murder of Felicia Gayle, Williams and his legal representatives devoted years to appeals to prove his innocence. Sadly, their efforts were not enough to save him. On September 24 shortly after 6 p.m. CT, he was executed by lethal injection in Bonne Terre, Missouri. Notably, both the victim’s family and prosecuting attorney Wesley Bell publicly advocated for his clemency. Still, Missouri Governor Mike Parson refused to intervene, the Supreme Court remained silent, and the state took Williams’ life. This tragedy, though horrific, is far from unique; it is a continuance of what this system has always been.

The US death penalty traces its origins back to lynching. Facilitated by Jim Crow laws after the Civil War, lynching became common, particularly in the South, as white supremacists retaliated against Black emancipation. Black people’s legal freedom was seen as a threat to the racial hierarchy. Lynchings were often public events, carried out by extremist groups, law enforcement, elected officials, and regular citizens well into the 20th century. As lynchings began to tarnish America’s international reputation, they declined, and the death penalty emerged as a legal version of the same practice. By 1915, court-ordered executions outpaced lynchings. Two-thirds of those executed in the 1930s were Black, and that trend continued. Although African Americans comprised just 22% of the South’s population by 1950, 75% of those executed were Black. Removing the chains from our bodies did not remove the Blackness from our skin. Our skin in and of itself was seen as a crime punishable by death in the eyes of a society that built its systems of control and oppression on the dehumanization of Black people.

Today, the same racial disparities permeate every facet of the criminal legal system. Black people are more likely to receive death sentences, particularly when victims are white. Black jurors are disproportionately excluded from jury pools, compounding the likelihood of harsher sentences for Black defendants. Innocent Black people are seven times more likely to be wrongfully convicted of murder than innocent white people. Black Americans are also killed by police at significantly higher rates than other ethnic groups. This violence against Black bodies is not a flaw in the system — it is a function of it.

We cannot ignore that people create, maintain, and expand systems. They can also be dismantled and rebuilt by people. We write this letter as law students and recent graduates and as NAACP-LDF Marshall-Motley Scholars. The Marshall-Motley Scholars Program aims to establish a new generation of civil rights lawyers dedicated to protecting and expanding civil rights, specifically focusing on racial justice in the South. With a clear mission, we aim to use our skills as legal professionals to correct the wrongs of the past and chart a path toward collective liberation. We are bold in our vision, clear in our convictions, and committed to taking action for our communities. We will use our voices, apply pressure against those who remain complacent, and advocate inside and outside the courtroom. We will challenge a system that has treated Black lives as expendable. We will fight for racial justice because the moment demands it.

As we navigate law school, professors will cold call us with questions about readings and exams and test our knowledge of the material. But parallel to our classroom education is education in the real world. Tragedies like the execution of Williams teach us more about the legal system than any of our classes could. As we hoped the system would spare an innocent Black man and demonstrate even the smallest modicum of justice, once again, the system failed. It failed Williams. It failed Black people. It failed all of us. But the fight for racial justice continues and we will not stop trying. We will not cede our seat at the table.

In honor of Williams and other Black victims of this system, we sign this statement to call for the abolition of the death penalty and reaffirm our commitment to challenge injustice day in and day out.

We know there is more work to be done. Here are some action steps we recommend:

• Support the Innocence Project
• Engage in the active fight against the death penalty by signing an execution petition
• Join and engage with Law for Black Lives,

In solidarity,

Aaliyah Pichon

Adom Abatkun

Andrew Brennen

Arianna Mackey

Arielle Hudson

Ashley Conyers

Ashley Fox

Ashonti Farrior

Cam Humphrey

Carlos Pollard Jr

Carson Malbrough

Christian Cece Worley

Cyan Blackwell

Danielle Hopkins

Danyelle Honoré

Deksyos Damtew

Dijon Stokes

Dominique Erney

Gabriella Achampong

Jordan Andrews

Jordan Braithwaite

Justyce Yuille

Kendell Long

Maydrian A. Strozier-Lowe

Miracle Bird

Nastassia ‘Tazzy’ Janvier

Nathan Poland

Naraya Price

Princess Jefferson

Sondos Moursy

Sophia Howard

Trenaj Mongo

Tristan Gardner

Victor Olofin

Zachari Curtis

Markus D. Reneau

The authors are NAACP-LDF Marshall-Motley Scholars. The program aims to establish a new generation of civil rights lawyers dedicated to protecting and expanding civil rights.