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wesley bell
GOP Killing Spree Continues as Missouri Executes Marcellus Williams
"We must abolish this flawed, racist, inhumane practice once and for all," Congresswoman Cori Bush said of the death penalty.
Sep 24, 2024
Update: The state of Missouri executed Marcellus Williams by lethal injection Monday evening over the objections of his prosecutor and the murder victim's relatives, The Associated Pressreported.
Earlier:
Advocates for a man set to be executed by the state of Missouri on Tuesday lodged desperate pleas for Republican Gov. Mike Parson to change course and grant an eleventh-hour reprieve in a case with such serious red flags that even the office that prosecuted the defendant wants his conviction overturned.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay for Williams, one day after both Parson and the Missouri Supreme Court said they would not halt Williams' killing by lethal injection—a method associated with botched executions—barring a last-minute change of heart by the governor.
"We wish we had better news. But as of now, Marcellus Williams is still scheduled to be executed by Missouri tonight at 6:00 pm Central for a crime he is totally innocent of," the Innocence Project—which works to exonerate wrongfully convicted people—said in a social media post.
Williams, who is Black, was convicted in 2001 of murdering Felicia Gayle, a white woman, during a 1998 robbery. DNA found on the knife used to kill Gayle matched another man. However, Williams was convicted by a nearly all-white jury after St. Louis County prosecutors were permitted to preemptively strike half a dozen Black prospective jurors from service.
Earlier this year, St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell, a Democrat running for Congress, asked to vacate Williams' conviction, citing "clear and convincing evidence" of his innocence including evidence contamination and the revelation that at least one potential juror was excluded because he was Black.
However, the Missouri Supreme Court unanimously ruled against stopping the execution, asserting that Williams' lawyers "failed to demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence Williams' actual innocence or constitutional error at the original criminal trial that undermines the confidence in the judgment of the original criminal trial."
Following the ruling, Parson said that Williams "has exhausted due process and every judicial avenue, including over 15 hearings attempting to argue his innocence and overturn his conviction."
Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-Mo.)—a death penalty opponent who was recently defeated by Bell in their district's Democratic House primary—joined civil and human rights defenders in appealing to Parson to reconsider.
"A system that rules that an innocent man can be executed by the hands of the state is anything but just," Bush said on social media. "Gov. Parson must reverse his disgraceful decision not to stop this inhumane execution and act now to save Marcellus Williams' life."
As NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund president and director-counsel Janai Nelson noted:
There is a groundswell of voices calling for either commutation or a temporary reprieve. As you know, these voices include the family of Felicia Gayle... Gayle's family had communicated their "desire that the death penalty not be carried out in this case." Mr. Williams has presented compelling evidence that he is innocent of Ms. Gayle's murder. The perpetrator of this horrific crime left behind significant forensic evidence, including fingerprints, footprints, hair, and trace DNA on the murder weapon. None of this evidence matches Mr. Williams. The St. Louis County prosecuting attorney has recognized that Mr. Williams' capital trial was marred by constitutional errors and the prosecution's presentation of unreliable evidence, which undermine confidence in the judgment against him.
"I implore you to use your gubernatorial authority to grant Mr. Williams clemency, or, at a minimum, grant a reprieve until the underlying conviction can be investigated further and applicable law can be determined," Nelson said.
As Amherst College law professor Austin Sarat noted in Slate Monday, the United States is currently "witnessing the worst execution spree in three decades."
Republican-led states are set to carry out four state-sanctioned killings in addition to last week's lethal injection of Freddie Owens in South Carolina, despite the key prosecution witness' bombshell claim that the convicted man did not commit the murder for which he was put to death.
"This week's execution spree should unsettle all Americans, whether or not they support the death penalty," Sarat wrote. "It will offer further reasons for why capital punishment should be abolished everywhere in this country."
As the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) notes on its website, capital punishment "carries the inherent risk of executing an innocent person."
"Since 1973, at least 200 people who had been wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in the U.S. have been exonerated," the group says, adding that it is "clear that innocent defendants will be convicted and sentenced to death with some regularity as long as the death penalty exists."
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Cori Bush Loses Reelection Bid to Democrat Backed by AIPAC
"Tonight's results should be a warning sign to anyone who cares about our democracy," said one advocacy group.
Aug 07, 2024
Rep. Cori Bush lost her reelection bid in Missouri's 1st Congressional District on Tuesday to a Democratic primary candidate backed by a massive influx of spending from AIPAC, which targeted the progressive incumbent over her early calls for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.
Wesley Bell, the prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County, enjoyed a huge cash advantage over Bush, with nearly two-thirds of his campaign money coming from fundraising efforts by AIPAC's super PAC, the United Democracy Project (UDP).
UDP, which has been bankrolled by ultra-wealthy Republicans, spent around $8.5 million to oust Bush, the second Squad member to lose to an AIPAC-backed primary opponent this election cycle. AIPAC pledged earlier this year to spend $100 million attacking progressive candidates, and the organization has thus far been the largest source of Republican money flowing into competitive Democratic primaries this year.
The Intercept's Akela Lacy reported that in Tuesday's race, AIPAC's money was spent "on voter engagement efforts and phone banking in addition to digital and mail ads."
"One of the mailers, first reported by The Intercept, included images that distorted Bush's features," Lacy added.
Bell, who also raised money directly from Republican billionaires and previously served as campaign manager for a GOP candidate, narrowly defeated Bush, winning 51.2% of the vote compared to the incumbent's 45.6%—a margin of fewer than 7,000 votes.
In a fiery speech to supporters following her defeat, Bush said that by "pulling me away from my position as congresswoman, all you did was take some of the strings off."
Bush, who was elected to the House in 2020, went on to directly address AIPAC's role in what became one of the most expensive congressional primaries in U.S. history.
"AIPAC, I'm coming to tear your kingdom down," said Bush. "And let me put all of these corporations on notice: I'm coming after you too. But I'm not coming by myself. I'm coming with all the people that's in here, that's doing the work."
Cori Bush defiant in defeat: "All they did was radicalize me, so now they need to be afraid."
"They about to see this other Cori, this other side," she said. "AIPAC, I'm coming to tear your kingdom down." pic.twitter.com/690T0aEhmZ
— Mark Maxwell (@MarkMaxwellTV) August 7, 2024
Justice Democrats, a progressive organization that helped propel Bush to victory in 2020 and backed her reelection bid, said following Tuesday's contest that "no matter what a singular super PAC can spend to try and buy an election, nothing can take away from the transformational effect Cori Bush has directly had on the people of St. Louis."
"That power—of everyday people to transform what we can expect from our political system—is such a threat to right-wing power, corporate interests, and AIPAC's influence, that a coalition of GOP-funded Super PACs had to spend over $12 million to even have a chance at defeating it," the group said in a statement posted to social media. "As AIPAC's influence in Congress wanes and the right-wing network propping it up is exposed, AIPAC has to spend historic amounts to continue advancing their interests at the expense of the Democratic mainstream that overwhelmingly supports a ceasefire and an end to genocide in Gaza."
Bush was one of the original sponsors of a congressional resolution calling for an end to Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip, which has dragged on for 10 months and left nearly 40,000 Palestinians dead, according to official tallies that are likely a vast undercount given the number of people missing under ruins and in mass graves.
"We can't bomb our way to peace, equality, and freedom," Bush said as she introduced the resolution alongside her progressive House colleagues on October 16. "With thousands of lives lost and millions more at stake, we need a cease-fire now."
"Cori Bush had the moral courage to speak out against her constituents' taxpayer dollars funding war crimes in Gaza."
Aru Shiney-Ajay, executive director of the Sunrise Movement, said Tuesday that "without the deluge of misleading advertisements" attacking Bush, she "would be headed to Congress for another term next year."
"Tonight's results should be a warning sign to anyone who cares about our democracy," said Shiney-Ajay. "If Democratic Party leaders don't stand against AIPAC and right-wing billionaires, they undermine our democracy and risk disillusioning the young voters and voters of color we need to defeat the far-right."
Our Revolution executive director Joseph Geevarghese echoed that message, saying in a statement that "tonight's outcome puts the blatantly undemocratic nature of Democratic Party primaries on full display."
"Cori Bush had the moral courage to speak out against her constituents' taxpayer dollars funding war crimes in Gaza. As a result, AIPAC and its MAGA Republican-funded super PAC spent more than $8.4 million to buy her congressional seat," said Geevarghese.
"Democratic Party elites have spent years decrying Trump as an existential threat to democracy," he added, "yet they are resoundingly silent when wealthy conservative donors unseat a true working-class champion who was among the first federal lawmakers to endorse Kamala Harris in her historic candidacy for president."
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Nearly Two-Thirds of All Campaign Funds for Cori Bush Challenger Came From AIPAC
"Wesley Bell is now the No. 1 recipient of AIPAC cash this cycle—receiving $3 million and counting," Justice Democrats noted.
Jul 30, 2024
Almost two-thirds of all campaign donations to St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell—who is seeking to oust Congresswoman Cori Bush in next week's Democratic primary for Missouri's 1st Congressional District—came from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's super PAC, according to reporting on Tuesday.
Sludgereported that Bell enjoys a 5:1 cash-on-hand advantage over Bush, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Overall, Bell's campaign raised $4.8 million while Bush's took in $2.9 million as of July 17 in what AdImpacts Politics says is already the fifth-most expensive House primary race in U.S. history.
The most expensive House primary took place earlier this year, when AIPAC's super PAC, United Democracy Project (UDP), spent $14.5 million on Westchester County, New York Executive George Latimer's successful bid to unseat Congressman Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.).
Like Bowman, Bush has been a vocal critic of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed or wounded more than 140,000 Palestinians and is the subject of an International Court of Justice genocide case. Bush co-led a House cease-fire resolution introduced less than two weeks after Israel began bombarding Gaza. She has accused Israel of genocide.
Bell, meanwhile, has vowed to "fight to make sure the United States remains Israel's strongest ally."
UDP has spent heavily against candidates critical of Israel, and Bell is now the top recipient of AIPAC money this election cycle. St. Louis
NBC affiliate KSDKreported Monday that UDP and other pro-Israel PACs have spent $7.6 million boosting Bell.
Bell launched his primary bid in October after the Hamas-led attacks on Israel that left more than 1,100 Israelis and others dead and around 240 people kidnapped. At the time, he was already running for Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley's seat. His House bid came despite a promise to Bush that he would not run against her. On Tuesday, Drop Site's Ryan Grim published an audio recording of Bell's promise.
According to Drop Site, AIPAC recruited Bell from a list of Black politicians with a chance of unseating Bush. AIPAC called this assertion "false and absurd."
Bell portrays himself as a progressive. However, he formerly managed the 2006 House campaign of Republican Mark Byrne, an anti-abortion and gun control candidate. More recently, he reneged on a promise to the family of Michael Brown—the 18-year-old who was fatally shot by Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson—to pursue justice in the case by declining to criminally charge Wilson. Bell has also overseen a steady increase in the St. Louis County Jail's population at a time when the overall U.S. prison and jail population declined.
Bell's campaign is funded by Republicans including billionaire hedge fund founder and prolific GOP donor Daniel Loeb, billionaire tech CEO David Steward, and former Missouri House Speaker Steven Tilley. An analysis published last month by Politicorevealed that 46% of donors who have given to Democratic candidates via AIPAC this election cycle have also funded Republicans since the 2020 cycle.
Such support doesn't always buy results, as Congresswoman Summer Lee (D-Pa.) showed when she defeated her Democratic primary opponent Bhavini Patel, who took money from Republican megadonors including billionaire businessman Jeffrey Yass. UDP spent $5 million trying—and failing—to unseat Lee, who crushed Patel by over 20 percentage points in the April primary.
AIPAC's largesse has sparked a #RejectAIPAC campaign urging Democrats to refuse to take money from the group.
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