A man was executed in Missouri on Tuesday despite prosecutors’ concerns about the strength of his conviction, the state Department of Corrections said.

Marcellus Williams, 55, was sentenced to death for the 1998 murder of Felicia Gayle, a former journalist.

He was pronounced dead Tuesday evening at 6:10 p.m. local time after being given a lethal injection, according to the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Williams’ execution went ahead despite his attorneys raising questions about jury selection at his trial and the handling of evidence in the case.

Even the Public Prosecution Service that secured his conviction for murder 21 years ago expressed doubts about the integrity of the case.

District Attorney Wesley Bell, whose office handled the original prosecution, attempted to block the execution over questions about the original trial.

After the execution, Bell said in a written statement that “when there is even a shadow of a doubt of innocence, the death penalty should never be an option.”

mfi/jsi (AFP, AP, Reuters)