Marcellus Williams was executed by Missouri on Tuesday evening for the 1998 murder of journalist despite objections from his attorneys and a state prosecutor.

The family of Marcellus Williams has reported receiving death threats since the state of Missouri executed him last week. A representative of his son said the threats were made via phone calls, emails and anonymous social media messages.

The family of Marcellus Williams has reported receiving death threats since the state of Missouri executed him on Tuesday. A representative of his son said the threats were made via phone calls, emails and anonymous social media messages.

The Supreme Court’s divided decision this week allowing Missouri to execute a man for a 1998 murder even though his conviction was contested by prosecutors has heaped renewed scrutiny on the court’s approach to the death penalty.

In the aftermath of Williams’ execution there has been an outcry from the public due to the doubts over his conviction, especially since it was reported in August that a new development showed that the knife used in the murder was believed to have been contaminated by DNA from a prosecutor and investigator working on the case.

Some progressives re-upped calls to abolish the death penalty, while conservatives lauded the execution for providing closure to the protracted case.

Questions are still swirling around the execution of a Missouri man convicted of fatally stabbing a woman in 1998

Williams was executed despite pleas for clemency from prosecutors and family members of murder victim Felicia Gayle.