Published On Mar 11, 2024
Before he was falsely accused and sentenced to death by The State of Pennsylvania, 16-year-old Alexander McClay Williams very likely expressed faith, hope and joy through his youthful chocolate, brown face. However after being accused of a murder he did not commit in October 1930, the boy’s face is most popularly remembered through a staged photo with late Delaware County District Attorney William J. McCarter. The grim photo shows McCarter holding an ice pick - the alleged murder weapon - up to the boy’s sullen face
While leading a national effort to honor Williams on a Delaware County courthouse, CHA project consultant, Ulysses “Butch” Slaughter, asked local artist, Marcy Morris, to reimagine Alexander’s face in a painting dedicated to the boy’s sister. Morris joins Slaughter and CHA Executive Director, Steve Fischer, to discuss her finished work and their plans to deliver the gift to Alexander’s sister.