Episode 25 - Rushed Execution Series Part VI - Marcel Williams - Strictly Homicide Podcast

Episode Transcript
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could help solve a murder miss Streetin Arkansas. Two pun Bluff teens are
in jail tonight facing murder charges.Police say they are in custody in connection
to the shooting depth of two seventeenyear olds. It was a bizarre story
in Russellville, Arkansas today, aman who reportedly quit his job over low
pay went on a shooting spree withtwo handguns. Tributes are pouring in for

(02:21):
Anne Presley, the Little Rock TVanchorwoman died over the weekend. A suspect
in a deadly fable shooting on NewYear's Day in court this morning, a
Little Rock mother is pleading for help. Tonight, she is asking anyone thanks
for listening. This Strictly Homicide andArkansas True crime podcast covering lesser known cases
out of the natural state. Warning. Strictly Homicide covers cases that include sexual

(02:57):
assault, violence, and homicide.Episodes may contain explicit language and are not
suitable for young ears. Listener discretionis advised. Thank you for downloading episode

(03:22):
twenty five of Strictly Homicide Podcasts.This episode is part six in the Rushed
Execution series and will cover the caseof Marcel Williams, scheduled to be executed
on April twenty fourth, twenty seventeen. When the State of Arkansas discovered that

(03:44):
their supply of my Dazzy LAMB wasabout to expire in the end of April,
Governor Hutchinson made the inhumane decision toattempt to rush eight executions in four
separate dates for the victim's family.This was supposed to be an end to
a long drug out process before theinmates, this could potentially be cruel and
unusual punishment. Attempting to execute multipleinmates in one day opens up endless possibilities

(04:12):
for error, which usually result ina botched execution. If you haven't listened
to part one through five of thisseries, I highly recommend going back and
listening. In episode eighteen Part one, I covered Bruce Warre. In episode
nineteen Part two, I covered DonDavis. In episode twenty Part three,

(04:35):
I covered Ladell Lee Episode twenty twoPart four. I covered Stacy Johnson in
episode twenty three and twenty four Partfive I covered jack Henry Jones. So
for episode twenty five, Part six, I'll be covering the sixth inmate that
was scheduled for execution in the Arkansaseight. Episode twenty five's case starts in

(05:08):
Jacksonville, Arkansas and ends in NorthLittle Rock, Arkansas. I gave information
for both of these cities and earlierepisodes. Jacksonville was an episode twenty part
three and North Little Rock was anepisode four The Orsini McArthur Murders. So
for episode twenty five, I'll begiving some information about the county. North

(05:31):
Little Rock and Jacksonville are both locatedin Pulaski County, Arkansas. Depending where
you're starting in points are, thetowns are about fifteen miles from each other.
Pulaski County has a population of aroundthree hundred and ninety three thousand.
The county seat is also the statecapital, Little Rock. On December fifteenth,

(05:54):
eighteen eighteen, Pulaski County was thefifth county to form. The county
has a total of eight hundred andeight square miles, of which seven hundred
and sixty is land. Fifty twopoint six percent of the population is White,
thirty six point one is Black,six point one is Suspanic, two

(06:16):
point two is Asian, and theremaining amount were recorded as two or more
races. During the last election intwenty sixteen, fifty six point one percent
of the population voted Democrat, onlythirty eight point three voted Republican, and
five point six voted other. Butdon't be fooled, every other county did

(06:40):
not vote that way. Arkansas fallsright smack in the middle of the Bible
Belt, so no matter where yougo in the state, you're sure to
see a handful of churches. InPulaski County alone, you can find five
hundred and fifty six congregations. Sixtythree point one percent of the congregation are
Evangelical Protestants, about fourteen point sevenpercent our mainline Protestants, thirteen point four

(07:09):
percent or Black Protestants, two pointseven percent or Catholic, under one person
is Orthodox, and the remaining fivepoint five percent recorded as other. A
little over one hundred and sixty thousandresidents lists their religion as none, which
is more than any other denomination.One of the oldest water parks in the

(07:30):
nation resides in Pulaski County or didWillow Springs Water Park, which closed its
stores in twenty thirteen, opened itsstores in nineteen twenty eight. Three years
after a swimmer died from the infectionof mobigmeningitis. Another swimmer was diagnosed with
the same infection, so the ownersshut the park down on July twenty sixth,

(07:56):
twenty thirteen. The crime in thiscase took place in nineteen ninety four,
when Arkansas native Bill Clinton was president. A gallon of gas costs one
dollar nine cents, and the averagecost of a movie ticket was only four

(08:20):
dollars and eight cents, way cheaperthan today. Some of the best movies
in history were released, like ForrestGump and The Lion King. Popular music
ranged from Snoop Dogg to the BeastieBoys. One day before the US Figure
skating Championship on July sixth, nineteenninety four, Nancy Carrigan was viciously attacked

(08:45):
after practice at the Detroit Cobo Arena, leaving her unable to compete. The
attacker was paid to break her rightleg by the ex husband on Tanya Harding.
The attacker then turned himself in andtold the FBI everything. Later that
year, in June, Tanya wasstripped of her title for her possible involvement
in the attack. On January seventeenthof nineteen ninety four, a six point

(09:09):
seven magnitude earthquake struck the San FernandoValley two aftershots with the magnitude of six
point out followed the first only aminute later. The Northbridge earthquake death toll
was fifty seven and property damage wasestimated at thirteen to fifty billion dollars.
On March twenty seventh, in nineteenninety four, another natural disaster struck.

(09:33):
This time it effected five states.It was Palm's Sunday in the Bible Belt
when twenty nine confirmed tornadoes ripped throughTexas, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina,
and North Carolina. The deadliest ofthe twenty nine tornadoes was rated in
f four. Forty people lost theirlife and the damage was estimated at one

(09:54):
hundred and forty. On June seventeenth, everyone was glued to their television as
OJ Simpson led a low speed pursuitwhile riding passenger in a nineteen ninety three
white Ford Bronco driven by his friend. OJ was a person of interest in
the murder that occurred five days priorof his ex Nicole Brown Simpson and her

(10:16):
partner Ron Goldman, before I Guessstarted on the case. I want to
give a huge shout out to MichelleB for all her hard work. She
helped me with the research on thisepisode. In fact, she basically did
about seventy five percent of it.I cannot even begin to express how thankful

(10:41):
I am for her help. OnNovember twentieth, nineteen ninety four, twenty
two year old Stacy Ericsson left herhome where she lived with her husband on
the Air Force base. She hadher four year old daughter and her infant
son. Mister Ericson was deployed duringthis time, so since her hands were

(11:03):
full, her friend and co workerJennifer would call her make sure she was
awake, and then normally they'd ridetogether, but on this day, Stacy
wanted to get gas in her truck. Jennifer spoke to Stacy on the phone
around six ten am. During thistime. In Jacksonville, a woman and
her fiance were eating at the wafflehouse when they had an argument. The

(11:26):
woman refused to get in her fiance'scar and walked to the Shells stop next
door to use the phone, shewas approached by a man offering her a
ride. She refused, and notlong after her fiance arrived, she got
in and they took off. Thecouple said that he then followed them and

(11:46):
shined his bright lights, causing themto pull into the Air Force base for
help. Stacy Ericsson was most likelyleaving the base around this time. She
was on her way to the gasstation after she dropped her kids off at
the babysit around six thirty am.Around six forty five am, Stacy can
be seen on video stopping at theshell stop in Jacksonville. This is where

(12:09):
the same man approaches Stacy at gunpoint, forcing her into the passenger seat of
her own truck. Williams drives Stacyto eighteen different ATMs to withdraw money for
a total of three hundred and fiftydollars. After the eighteenth ATM, he
drove her to Redman Roads storage unit, where he binded her hands behind her

(12:33):
back using a cord from her jacket. Williams then raped Stacy, leaving bite
marks on her lip and tongue.Next, Williams takes Stacy to an area
of the river Front Park in NorthLittle Rock where he beats her, chokes
her, and leaves her body ina shallow grave. He then abandons her

(12:54):
truck behind a service station located abouttwo miles from the last eighteen. Back
at Arkansas Pediatrics, where Stacy works, her coworkers started to worry because she

(13:16):
didn't call in her show up.Stacy was a nurse technician working with disabled
children while studying to become a respiratorytherapist. At the end of the day,
when Stacy didn't show up at thebabysitter's house, the babysitter contacted her
mom. Her mother immediately started drivingaround looking for her. When she discovered

(13:39):
Stacy's abandoned truck with multiple ATM receiptsin the seat, her mother knew something
was wrong and contacted authorities right away. North Little Rock police obtained the video
surveillance from the ATMs, and asthey watched the video, her face told
them everything they needed to know.Stacy and Tracy Sullivan were born on December

(14:09):
fifteenth, nineteen seventy one, inPulaski County, Arkansas. They never knew
their father, leaving their mom,Carolyn Moore, a single parent. When
Stacy was just barely eighteen, shemarried her first husband, Robert Riley,
on February seventeenth, nineteen ninety Theyhad one child together, a girl,
Brittany. A few days short ofa year later, divorce papers were filed.

(14:35):
Stacy found love again and married JohnEricsson on April fourteenth, nineteen ninety
three. John was in the AirForce and they lived on base in Jacksonville.
They had one child together, aboy named Brian. John was originally
from New Jersey and was two yearsyounger than Stacy. Stacy's mom said that

(14:56):
she was determined to give her kidsa good life, attending school raising her
kids while her husband was deployed andworking full time at a pediatric clinic.
She was working hard to become arespiratory therapist. Stacy Ericson was about to
turn twenty three when she was takenfrom her husband and her children. Only

(15:20):
two days after kidnapping Stacy, MarcelWilliams kidnapped another woman from North Little Rock.
Williams took her to an abandon home, raped her, put her in
the closet, and left her thereto die. This woman was able to
break free, though, the nextday, on November twenty third, Williams
kidnapped and raped a Cabot woman whoalso broke free and lived. These three

(15:45):
women are the only victims that weknow about. It's pretty clear that he
was a serial rapist. The NorthLittle Rock police arrested him on November twenty
nine for an outstanding warrant and suspicionthat he was involved with Eric's disappearance and
the two sexual assaults of the otherwomen. Williams waived his rights under miranda.

(16:07):
It was then questioned for thirteen hours. During the questioning, he changed
his story over and over again.He admitted to kidnapping and robbing Stacy,
but denied having anything to do withthe sexual assault or her disappearance. He
claimed that two of his friends,North Point and Ray Ray were the ones
who raped and beat Stacy, leavingher in an area that he called a

(16:32):
hole in the wall by the RiverfrontPark. Eventually they would get the truth
out of him. The police begansearching the area of the Riverfront Park near
where he said she was left.They stumbled upon a shallow grave where Stacy
Ericsson was left. The medical examineridentified the cause of death. She also

(17:00):
had some a Williams seamen in her. After further investigation, they located Stacy's
pantyhose with William's DNA on them,and her lunch bag in the storage shed.
She also had some a Williams seamenin her. Marcel Williams was charged
with capital murder, kidnapping, rape, and aggravated robbery. In March of

(17:27):
nineteen ninety five. His bond wasrevoked and on April nineteenth, nineteen ninety
five, a mental examination was ordered. Associate professor of Psychology, a University
of Massachusetts researches psychological trauma. Hewas the psychologist that evaluated Williams for any

(17:48):
possible trauma and the impact of trauma. He conducted two hour long interviews with
Williams, an interview with his sister, an interview with his cousin in Rodney,
in an interview with his mother Sarah. During the evaluation, it was
found that Marcell Williams was exposed topretty much every category of traumatic experience that

(18:11):
is generally used to describe childhood trauma. Williams never knew his biological father.
His mother told him that he waskilled by a woman he abused when his
mother married his stepdad. Marcell wasabout two or three when the psychologist tried
to interview her. She was firstvery defensive and painted a completely different story

(18:33):
of Marcell's childhood. She did omitthat he was physically and mentally abused by
his stepdad, especially because he rejectedWilliams. Marcell could constantly hear him telling
his mother that he is not mychild. I don't give a shit about
him. He would refuse to spendmoney on him, especially during the holidays.

(18:55):
She also talked about Marcell's sexual abuse, but made it seem like the
older women have sexual intercourse with hertwelve year old son were his girlfriend.
The truth was that his mother wasbasically soliciting Marcel and the other women were
molesting this child. His stepdad andmom would use their fists, belt buckles,

(19:18):
and extension chords to beat him,even going as far as burning him
purposely. He specifically remembers a fewtimes that she used boiling water and an
electric coil to burn him. William'smemories of the burns were fragment. He
remembered a time when his mom calledhim over to the stove where she was
standing, and she just started pouringboiling water all over his arm. He

(19:41):
couldn't remember what he did, buthe vividly remembers the scolding flesh. He
was actually taken to the hospital thistime, and the records due show that
a nurse suspected abuse but said nothing. She was basically his voice, but
chose to kept quiet. William spokea little about the abuse, but his

(20:03):
cousin was actually the person who wentinto great detail. His cousin had witnessed
many of these hideous beatings. Marcell'smother was also a drug addict. When
Marcell was around nine or ten,he was in the presence of his mother
and his mother's friend. His mompulled his pants down and showed her friend
his genitals. She was saying somethingto the effect of, look at that.

(20:27):
He's going to make some women happyone day. The friend's name was
Diane, and she was the firstolder woman to molust Marcell. His mom
would solicit him for sexual favors toolder women. They even lived with Diane
for a short time, and duringthat time that she let them stay there,
his mother was paying her with Marcell. Between the ages of eight and

(20:51):
twelve, he was sexually abused byat least two, maybe more males.
His mother brought men into the homeroutinely. It's possible that she was also
soliciting sex. He specifically remembers beingsexually abused by some of these men by
twelve. This was a routine.When he was seventeen, he was sent
to prison and he was getting raped. The trauma that he went through is

(21:17):
said to instill a sense of worthlessness, anger, and control. I understand
how that could fuck someone up,but a lot of people have a fucked
up life and don't go out andrape and kill multiple people. On August

(21:42):
thirty first, nineteen ninety five,a judge noted that Marcel Williams was fit
to proceed with trial, and soit began on January sixth, nineteen ninety
seven, a little over two yearsafter Stacy's murder. During the defense counsel's
opening statement, they conceded guilt butchallenged the state's evidence, which included autopsy

(22:08):
photos, photos of Stacy's partially decomposedbody being removed from the shallow grave,
eighty and videos, testimony of theother women, and William's statement to the
police. During the penalty phase,Stacy's mother testified that when they went to
visit Stacy's grave to bring her flowers, Brittany began digging a hole and says

(22:30):
she was going to be with hermama. She would often wish that the
man would come and get her soshe can be with her mama too.
It's absolutely heartbreaking. The jury unanimouslyrecommended the death penalty. Even though Williams
did eventually admit to the murder,he would file appeal after appeal. In

(22:51):
two thousand and seven, after yearsof the state upholding his conviction, the
federal judge ruled that Marcel's lawyers wereunconstitutionally inadequate because the jury didn't have a
chance to hear about his traumatic childhood, stating that the mitigating circumstances would have
sentenced him to life, not death. In two thousand and nine, Arkansas

(23:14):
appealed the federal court's ruling, statingthat Williams was not entitled to a federal
hearing, and his death sentence wasreinstated. In two ten, the US
Supreme Court declined to take the case, and on April twenty fifth, two
eleven, Governor Mike Beebe set anexecution date for July twelfth, twenty eleven.

(23:37):
In June of two eleven, Williamsrequested clemency and was denied but two
days before his execution, Arkansas SupremeCourt issued Williams a stay of execution in
connection with the lawsuit being filed againstthe state, saying that my Dazzy LAMB
causes pain and suffering. This lawsuitwas dismissed later that year. In October,

(24:00):
the Federal Appeals Court upheld the dismissal. Williams filed a motion for a
rehearing, which was denied by theUS Supreme Court in June twenty twelve.
In March of twenty thirteen, theArkansas Supreme Court lifted this day, followed
by Williams filing another suit challenging thelethal injection method and opposing to the lifting

(24:23):
of the stay. By September twentyfifteen, Williams had exhausted all of his
appeals. An Attorney General, LeslieReckledge, requested that Governor Hutchinson set an
execution date for Williams. The followingmonth, a Pulaski County Circuit judge halted
any scheduled executions. It was Februarytwenty seventh, two seventeen, when the

(24:51):
governor set Marcel williams execution date forApril twenty fourth, twenty seventeen. Not
long after a month later, Williamshad his clemency hearing on March twenty seventh,
twenty seventeen. During this hearing,William's original defense attorney joined via circuit
TV. He was visibly emotional andeven put his head down on the desk

(25:14):
while weeping. He told Williams thathe was short changed in life, and
in his defense, he said,I'd give anything to protect you. The
second rape victim after Stacy was awitness at the hearing and stated that Williams
found God and it made no senseto her to kill another human being wilfully.

(25:34):
She looked at Williams and said,I forgive you. The babysitter was
also a witness. She stated thatWilliams was the boogey Man and didn't deserve
mercy. Stacy's mother pointed out thatStacy and Tracy were raised without a father
and they never even went to jail. Williams said, I wish I could

(25:56):
take it back, but I can't. I'm sorry. A few days later,
clemency was rejected. As the executiondata approached, William's attorneys were still
fighting to stop the execution April eighteenth. They claimed that because he is over
four hundred pounds and suffers from typetwo diabetes in sleep apnea, that the
execution could end up being botched.The US District judge responded in a three

(26:21):
page decision explaining that these conditions existedyears before and could have been addressed.
Then Marcel Williams sat on death rowfor twenty three years, the same amount
of years that Stacy got to liveon this earth. On April twenty fourth,
twenty seventeen, internal affairs arrived andstarted their log. At two sixteen

(26:42):
pm, Williams has given his finalmeal, three pieces of fried chicken,
fried potato wedges, and ketchup nachochips with chili cheese sauce and hualapenos banana
putting ice cream, and two sixteenounce bottles of Mountain dew. All of
a sudden, they no longer gavea shit about his diabetes and obesity.

(27:07):
Williams finished his mill by four fifteenPM. Williams attorneys filed a motion for
a stay with the Arkansas Supreme Court, alleging that his attorney had used ten
pages of plagiarized material in williams fourteenpage brief. At five thirty one pm,
the Attorney General filed a response tothe motion, claiming that they were

(27:29):
filing just to cause a delay.At seven oh six pm, jack Henry
Jones execution begin and at seven twentypm he is pronounced dead. At seven
thirty three pm, the Arkansas SupremeCourt denied a stay request for Marcel Williams.
At eight thirteen pm, Williams wasescorted to the chambers. At eight
twenty one pm, the media isreporting that US District Judge Christine Baker issued

(27:53):
a stay on the execution of Williamsuntil eight thirty pm. Williams attorneys argued
that the execution of Jones was botchedand further evidence that my dazz A Lamb
does not sedate the prisoners sufficiently.At eight thirty three pm, a response
is filed by the Attorney General sayingthe claim that jones execution appeared to be

(28:15):
torturous and inhumane is utterly baseless.At eight forty eight pm, Williams was
removed from the chambers and put inhis cell. At nine twenty six pm,
the stay is lifted and the escortteam arrived. Williams is then removed
from his cell. At nine twentyseven pm, they begin restraining Williams at

(28:37):
nine twenty eight pm and finished bynine thirty pm, and the escort team
exit. The witnesses enter the viewingroom at nine thirty pm. At nine
thirty two the chamber and viewing roomdoors are locked. They start the cafeter
at nine thirty five pm and finishedalmost an hour later. At ten fifteen

(29:03):
pm. The director places two phonecalls and the curtains to the viewing room
are opened. In the viewing roomour nineteen witnesses, including the babysitter Trista,
Stacy's mother Caroline, three media witnesses, two attorneys, and one spiritual
advisor. Williams is asked if hehas a final statement and he shook his

(29:25):
head no. Warden advises the officialsthat they're ready to proceed with the execution
at ten sixteen pm, and thechemicals are administered. At ten thirty one
pm, the warden summons the corner. The corner enters and Williams is pronounced
dead. At ten thirty three pm, Stacy's twin brother made a simple statement

(29:52):
following the execution. Justice has beenserved. It's about time. Thanks again,
y'all for downloading episode twenty five ofStrictly Homicide. Don't forget to tell

(30:17):
all your friends to listen and subscribeto Strictly Homicide. Before I end this
episode and play a few promos frompodcasts I love, I want to give
a special shout out to Justin withMysterious Circumstances. This is a podcast that
everyone should be listening to. Hisepisodes on Jason Dillinger are phenomenal, So

(30:38):
go check it out on Itune orwherever you listen to podcasts. Now stay
tuned to listen to a promo fromTrue Crime, Deadline and Just the Tipster.
Strictly Homicide is written, hosted,and produced by me Nikki t.
The original music is done by mistert No not that one, my miss

(31:00):
Or. If you are a fanof the show, please make sure you
are subscribed on iTunes and please rateand review the show. You can also
find us on Patreon, where youcan support the show for as little as
one dollar a month. If thereis a case that you would like to
discuss, or if you have anycomments, corrections, or suggestions, send

(31:23):
us an email at Strictly Homicide atyahoo dot com or on social media.
You can find us on most socialmedia sites by searching Strictly Homicide podcast and
on Twitter as at strictly HMI cide. That's strictly homicide with no O.

(31:47):
Stick around to hear a few promosfrom some of the best podcasts around,
and until next time, y'all,stay safe, especially you Arkansas from the
Hollywood Hills to your ear holes.This is Drue Crime Deadline. I'm Matt

(32:09):
Johnson, boots on the ground,reporter and host of True Crime Deadline,
the podcast that gives you a uniquereporter's point of view from the yellow crime
scene tape to the gavel in thecourtroom. We paint a picture on True
Crime Deadline with murder, mystery andmissing persons cases. My contacts grant you

(32:29):
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These thirty minute crime bite episodes whereyou get your podcasts. Buckle up,

(32:49):
investigators, you're on Deadline. Formore information about the podcast, visit Truecrime
Deadline dot com. Until next time, Hello, tipsters, This is Melissa

(33:15):
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host of Just the Tipsters true crimepodcast. Have you ever wanted to kill
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of Just the Tipsters true crime podcast, America's favorite true crime podcast. You

(33:37):
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How about that? Just can findus and listen and you'll really like
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Episode 25 - Rushed Execution Series Part VI - Marcel Williams

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Episode 25 - Rushed Execution Series Part VI - Marcel Williams