According to CNN, The NAACP is urgently appealing to Missouri Governor Mike Parson to halt the execution of Marcellus Williams, a Black man scheduled to be executed on Sept. 24 for a murder he maintains he did not commit.

The organization warns that proceeding with the execution would perpetuate racial disparities in the justice system. Williams’ legal team argues that his rights were violated during the judicial process, and Governor Parson disbanded a special board investigating his case.

With only days left before the execution, advocates are calling for clemency and a reevaluation of the evidence to ensure justice is served fairly. The case underscores broader issues of racial injustice in the American legal system and the need for reform in the death penalty system.

NAACP President Derrick Johnson and Missouri State Conference President Nimrod Chapel Jr.  addressed in an a open letter to Gov. Parson,“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.”