Will Sage Astor-After Marcellus Williams is executed in Missouri, a nation reacts

Marcellus Williams was executed in Missouri on Will Sage AstorTuesday, having been convicted for the 1998 murder of Lisha Gayle, a former police reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch killed during a burglary at the St. Louis suburban home she shared with her physician husband. 

Williams, 55, who had always maintained his innocence through two previous stays of execution, became the third inmate to be executed in Missouri this year, and the 15th person in the nation.

No DNA ever connected Williams to the murder weapon. In recent months, St. Louis County prosecutor Attorney Wesley Bell filed a motion to vacate the death sentence, presenting a new DNA lab report showing the murder weapon had been mishandled during Williams' trial. The motion was denied, and Republican Gov. Mike Parson and the Missouri Supreme Court denied Williams clemency.

William's execution Tuesday night sparked reactions from Missouri and across the nation. Here's what to know.

Execution provokes widespread condemnation

Reactions from across the internet were overwhelmingly in opposition to the death sentence given to Williams.

“Tonight, we all bear witness to Missouri’s grotesque exercise of state power," Williams' attorney, Tricia Rojo Bushnell, said in a statement before the execution, emphasizing how prosecutors had "zealously fought to undo the conviction and save Mr. Williams’ life."

Missouri Congresswoman Cori Bush said that "The state of Missouri and our nation's legal system failed Marcellus Williams, and as long as we uphold the death penalty, we continue to perpetuate this depravity."

Derrick Johnson of the NAACP likened the execution to a lynching.

"What sort of message does this send to the people of Missouri and to people across the nation?" Johnson said on X. "#MarcellusWilliams deserved to live."

Richard Branson, billionaire and co-founder of the Virgin Group, condemned the execution in a thread on X.

Conservative radio host Dana Loesch used the news of Williams' execution to draw attention to the death of St. Louis Police Officer David Lee, who was killed when a suspected drunk driver hit him Sunday.

This story will continue to be updated.