Statement on the Execution of Marcellus Williams: A Modern-Day Lynching

BLM Grassroots Statement on the Execution of Marcellus Williams: A Modern-Day Lynching

"All Praise Be to Allah in Every Situation!!!"​ - Marcellus Williams

Marcellus Williams’ execution is nothing short of a modern-day lynching, carried out under the guise of justice, but rooted deeply in the same systems of oppression that have brutalized Black people for centuries. This was not just a man being put to death—it was the latest chapter in America’s long and bloodstained history of state-sanctioned violence against Black bodies. Williams was not merely executed; he was hung from the figurative hanging tree, a symbol as old as our nation’s darkest sins. His death is a chilling reminder of the unrelenting force of the power structure, determined to uphold a broken system that values finality over fairness, dominance over truth. 

This was a marking of power, a cold and calculated message: even in the face of overwhelming doubt, even when the very foundation of the conviction was corroded by racial bias, corrupted evidence, and the cries of an innocent man, the state will move forward. The rope may be gone, but the spectacle remains—an institution so deeply embedded in racism and violence that it refuses to consider life, only death. Williams’ death was not just about him; it was about the assertion of dominance, the reiteration that Black lives can still be taken without due process, without justice, without remorse. 

This execution is a warning, a declaration that despite our progress, the machinery of the old world still grinds on. It reminds us that the structures built to kill us, control us, and erase us have only become more insidious in their operation. This system, which lynched Williams under the cover of law, is not about justice—it’s about power, and that power remains resolute in preserving itself at all costs. 

But let this also be a testament to our resolve. Marcellus Williams’ name joins the long line of those who have died unjustly at the hands of the state. His life is a symbol, not of defeat, but of resistance—resistance to a system that continues to show us its face time and time again. We are watching. We are remembering. We will never be silent. Each one of these acts only strengthens our resolve, as we continue to tear down the scaffolding of white supremacy, brick by brick, name by name. 

And though the state may claim this as justice, we know the truth: this was an execution of innocence, a lynching dressed in legalese and bureaucracy .

 Press Contact: press@blmgrassroots.org

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