Murdered Felicia Gayle Forgotten By Missouri Activists Alleging Death Penalty Racism

Despite weeks of racially-charged advocacy, convicted killer Marcellus Williams was put to death by the State Of Missouri this week. 

From our vantage . . . 

In one of the most shameful lapses in Missouri journalism we've ever witnessed, the name of the victim in this case was almost entirely omitted from media coverage. 

Nevertheless . . .

It's important to remember the victim as activists and progressive voters clog social media with mourning for the man convicted in her murder.

Her name was Felicia Gayle "Lisha" Picus.

And in August of 1998. Gayle, the 42-year-old journalist and social worker was stabbed up to 43 times with a butcher's knife taken from her kitchen. Her husband later discovered her dead body. 

Over the past few days we've heard activists and pundits recite talking points about DNA evidence and allegations about paid testimony along with insinuations that "racism" led to the conviction of Mr. Williams. 

This post isn't intended to try the case, we only serve to note how one-sided so much of this conversation has been and we're honestly surprised by so many willing to exonerate the late Marcellus Williams despite little knowledge of horrific deets in the shocking murder of which he was convicted. 

Again . . . 

DNA tech and racially charged allegations about jury selection were the crux of mainstream media argumentation and the assumption was that Mr. Williams was innocent despite so much evidence that has been dismissed by present-day readers in favor of mostly baseless allegations. 

To be fair, we can discount jailhouse informant testimony and even acknowledge problems with DNA testing but still find it curious that activists ignored these facts . . .

- According to her testimony, Marcellus Williams confessed the murder to his girlfriend soon after committing his horrific crime once his girlfriend found Ms. Gayle’s purse in Williams’ car, but he also threatened to kill her and her family if she told anyone, readily explaining why his girlfriend did not approach law enforcement until Williams was in custody.

- The girlfriend never requested the reward for information about Ms. Gayle’s murder, despite claims that she was only interested in money.

- Gayle’s personal items were found in the trunk of Williams’ car.

- Williams sold Ms. Gayle’s husband’s laptop to another individual who later identified Williams as the seller.

Sadly . . . 

The most committed activists are willing to dismiss all of this evidence that served as part of a jury's decision to convict Marcellus Williams. 

And our point here isn't that any of these pieces of evidence are enough to convict a man of murder or even that the death penalty is a fair & just punishment. We're merely disappointed that so many local news outlets were so committed to the anti-death penalty, progressive narrative that they didn't even bother mentioning the victim's name or the any relevant details of the case beyond activist talking points.

And so, we'll conclude our www.TonysKansasCity.com post on this tragic topic with equal time for Missouri Guv Parson who did not intervene to stop the execution despite intense political pressure from locals all the way up to The Supreme Court.

In a statement from the Governor's office preceding the execution, this passage that's critical of media coverage stands out above all: 

“I also want to add how deeply disturbed we’ve been about how this case has been covered. Mr. Williams’ attorneys chose to muddy the waters about DNA evidence, claims of which Courts have repeatedly rejected. Yet, some media outlets and activist groups have continued such claims without so much of a mention of the judicial proceedings or an unbiased analysis of the facts. I would just implore the media to do their due diligence and not rely on the sole claims of individuals who have a personal or monetary stake in this case. The facts are Mr. Williams has been found guilty, not by the Governor’s Office, but by a jury of his peers, and upheld by the Courts,” Governor Parson continued.

Developing . . .