A death row inmate in Missouri who has long claimed his innocence and is scheduled to be executed in less than one week asked the US Supreme Court on Wednesday for a stay of execution, arguing his due process rights were denied during the yearslong legal battle to save his life.

The president of the NAACP is urging Missouri's governor to halt the execution of Marcellus Williams scheduled for Tuesday, writing that executing a Black man who says he was wrongfully convicted would amount to a “horrible miscarriage of justice.

Williams' case demonstrates how the death penalty in America is meted out in the most arbitrary manner—to those denied adequate legal counsel, those facing racial discrimination at trial, those railroaded to death on “technicalities,

Taking the life of Marcellus Williams would be an unequivocal statement that when a white woman is killed, a Black man must die. And any Black man will do,” read a part of the organization's letter.

The St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will appeal to the Missouri Supreme Court a judge’s ruling upholding the conviction and death sentence for Marcellus Williams, whose execution is one week away.

NAACP calls on Missouri's Gov. Mike Parson to halt the execution of Marcellus Williams, a Black man on death row, citing racial bias and lack of evidence.

A Missouri judge on Thursday upheld the conviction of Marcellus Williams, a death row inmate, rejecting a local prosecutor’s argument that there is strong evidence that Mr. Williams is innocent.

The NAACP is urging Missouri Governor Mike Parson to stop the scheduled execution of Marcellus Williams on Tuesday (September 24), Essence reports. Williams, now 55, was convicted in 1998 of killing former newspaper reporter Felicia Gayle.