Kansas
Dozens of Kansas Citians hold vigil in protest of Marcellus Williams’ execution
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – An hour before Missouri was set to execute Marcellus Williams, dozens gathered at every corner of 39th Street and Troost Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri, holding signs to protest the execution.
“I just think this is so wrong and I’ve thought it for so long,” said Jim Hannah. “It’s encouraging to see this many people out here, but it’s also discouraging to think that we’re still doing this.”
Those who organized and showed up were not only against this specific execution but also against the death penalty in the state. Everyone gathered as the U.S. Supreme Court made the decision to deny all three petitions for Williams. Demonstrators said they were disappointed but not surprised.
“No,” said Bob Anderson. “First of all it was last minute, but they also tend to be conservative in their opinions. Since the Missouri Supreme Court had said to go ahead with this, even though there seems to be gobs of evidence that it is an unfair killing, I didn’t think the Supreme Court at the last minute would stop it.”
ALSO READ: Kansas City leaders look to unify 911 dispatch system with police, fire to address long wait times
Earlier on Tuesday, Missouri Governor Mike Parson, who denied Williams’ clemency request, released a statement outlining why, saying in part, “Nothing from the real facts of this case have led me to believe in Mr. Williams’ innocence, as such, Mr. Williams’ punishment will be carried out as ordered by the Supreme Court.”
About 6 p.m., when Williams was set to be executed, the crowd gathered in the parking lot of St. James Catholic Church to pray for Williams and hold a moment of silence.
“We know it’s not going to stop the execution tonight,” said Anderson. “We think it’s wrong to be executing this man, but we can still stand up and say this is not what we think should be done. This is not who we are, even though the state of Missouri says that’s who they are.”
The Innocence Project posted a statement following the execution on its website. It read, in part:
ALSO READ: Kansas City leaders look to unify 911 dispatch system with police, fire to address long wait times
Copyright 2024 KCTV. All rights reserved.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Bates County Circuit Court judge Friday sentenced a Linn County, Kansas, man in connection with the December 2025 death of Airen Andula, 13.
Damon Leonard, 47, was sentenced to four years in prison for abandonment of a corpse, according to court records.
He pleaded guilty to the charge of abandoning a corpse on May 22.
Andula disappeared from his Pleasanton, Kansas, home on Dec. 21, 2025. A day later, law enforcement found the boy’s body in a ravine in Bates County, Missouri. He had died from multiple dog bite injuries.
Police were led to the boy’s body after a phone call from Leonard.
Court documents said Leonard “admitted that he transported the deceased child from Kansas to Missouri and left the body in the bottom of the creek” before he returned home.
KSHB 41 reporter Fernanda Silva spoke with Andula’s family earlier this week — after the guilty plea and ahead of Friday’s sentencing.
His family shared that the guilty plea brought a small sense of justice, but it didn’t do much to ease the pain of their loss.
READ MORE | Family of Airen Andula speaks out ahead of sentencing
“We’re missing our kid every day of our lives,” the boy’s father Charles Andula told Silva.
Leonard received credit for time served of 158 days in his sentence, per court records.
—
TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – It may not seem like a lot of relief, but gas and diesel prices have declined over the past week.
Friday morning’s national average for a gallon of unleaded gas was $4.39, according to the Automobile Association of America.
That’s down three cents from $4.42 on Thursday; down 16 cents from a week ago; but was up 17 cents from $4.22 a month ago and up $.23 from $3.16 a year ago.
In Kansas, AAA says, unleaded gas on Friday was averaging $3.96 a gallon — down four cents from $4.00 on Thursday; down 13 cents from $3.96 a week ago; but up 26 cents from $3.70 a month ago; and up $1.07 over $2.89 a year ago.
Diesel fuel also was dropping in price. AAA says Friday’s national average for a gallon of diesel was $5.52 a gallon — down three cents from $5.55 on Thursday; down 12 cents from $5.64 a week a go; but up six cents from $5.46 a month ago and up $1.98 from $3.54 a year ago.
Kansas diesel fuel prices, according to AAA, checked in at an average of $4.98 on Friday. That’s five cents below $5.03 on Thursday; down 16 cents from $5.14 a week ago; but up 24 cents over $4.74 a month ago; and up $1.72 from $3.26 a year ago.
In Topeka, GasBuddy.com on Friday morning showed unleaded gas prices ranging between $3.77 and $4.09 in Topeka, with diesel fuel going for between $4.94 and $5.29 a gallon.
Copyright 2026 WIBW. All rights reserved.
Kansas
Sunflower soak: Rain welcomes Arkansas baseball to Kansas, might stay awhile | Whole Hog Sports
-
Lifestyle6 minutes agoBack from Cannes, a critic shares the films he’s most excited to see again
-
Technology14 minutes agoNvidia, Microsoft, and Arm are all teasing Nvidia’s new N1X laptop processors
-
World21 minutes agoChristian farming communities under siege as US report names Fulani militants Nigeria’s deadliest threat
-
Politics24 minutes agoFBI arrests protester who threatened to kill ICE officer’s family at NJ detention center protest, Blanche says
-
Health29 minutes agoControversial drug delivered rapid relief for severe depression in just hours
-
Sports36 minutes agoThunder lose star Jalen Williams for Western Conference Finals Game 7 as hamstring injury lingers
-
Technology39 minutes agoHyundai to send 25,000 Atlas robots to the US
-
Business44 minutes agoAfter heated debate, California updates key climate limit. Critics say it’s a retreat
