Rodney Reed has spent more than 21 years on death row for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites in Bastrop, Texas. Police say Reed assaulted, raped and strangled Stites, but he insists he’s innocent.
DNA testing has been denied in this case — and while three forensic experts provided testimony that the initial time of death is incorrect, proving that Reed killing Stites is nearly impossible, he is still headed for execution.
According to CNN, former inmate Arthur Snow Jr., who was in jail for forgery, filed an affidavit in court earlier this week saying Stites’ fiancé, Jimmy Fennell, confessed to the murder years ago.
The two had a conversation about the crime while Fennell was serving his 10-year sentence for raping and kidnapping a woman — a crime he committed after Stites murder. He was released in 2018.
Snow had been serving a sentence for forgery at a DeWitt County, Texas, prison in 2010 when he made a deal with Fennell, who’d sought protection from other inmates, the document states. Snow was then a member of the Aryan Brotherhood gang, it states.
In his affidavit, Snow said he was with Fennell in the prison yard when Fennell started bragging about killing Stites.
“Jimmy said his fiancé had been sleeping around with a black man behind his back,” Snow wrote.
“Toward the end of the conversation Jimmy said confidently, ‘I had to kill my n*****- loving fiancé,'” he added.
“My impression was the Jimmy felt safe, even proud, sharing this information with me because I was a member of the Aryan Brotherhood. I think Jimmy assumed that his confession would impress me and earn him credibility with the Aryan Brotherhood.”
Snow said he learned about Reed’s case a few years ago when, jailed in Texas’ Hays County for a different offense, he saw a photo of Fennell along with an article about Reed in the newspaper.
Snow realized Reed was in prison for a murder that Fennell had confessed to him, Snow said in his affidavit.
While more recently in Hays County jail for another crime, Snow decided to come forward after he saw another article about the case, his affidavit said.
Fennell’s attorney, Robert Phillips, said Snow is a career criminal and his claim is not credible nor in the “world of reality.”
Fennell served time in prison for rape but has since been released, converted to Christianity and is helping people with drug addictions, Phillips said.
Police identified Fennell — a former police officer — as a suspect during their investigation into Stites’ killing, but he was never charged.
In the initial phases of the case, Fennell’s best friend, Bastrop Sheriff Officer Curtis Davis, admitted that Fennell provided inconsistent details of where he was the night of Stites’s murder. He also reportedly threatened to kill Stites while he was applying for life insurance, according to a witness.
Earlier this week, Reed’s attorneys filed an application for clemency as they attempt to block his execution. Snow is among a few witnesses who have emerged in recent weeks suggesting that Reed is innocent.
Bryce Benjet, a senior staff attorney at the Innocence Project and Reed’s lead counsel, said evidence clearly shows that Reed did not kill Stites.
“Mr. Reed’s execution is less than one month away, meaning Texas is frighteningly close to executing an innocent man,” Benjet said in a statement. Between the medical and scientific evidence, and multiple new, credible witnesses, the original case trial has been completely deconstructed and disproven.”
Dr. Phil also covered the case on his show and he had a chance to interview Reed on his show.
Additional witnesses, including Stites’s cousin and colleague, have also spoken out recently and stated that they were aware that Reed and Stites were in a consensual sexual relationship, even though no one confirmed this during the trial.
Kim Kardashian has joined the fight for Rodney and revealed via Twitter last month that she has been working on the case. She pleaded with Texas Governor Greg Abbott to do the right thing.
Activist Shaun King is also leading the fight for Rodney and encouraging others to sign a petition that will in hopes stop the execution.
This is an emergency! A true emergency.
The State of Texas is about to execute an innocent man in 16 days.
Join our team, sign our petition, and let’s get ALL HANDS ON DECK.
Go to https://t.co/7Ty1Wyu29n ok? pic.twitter.com/fwoDmEOwwF
— Shaun King (@shaunking) November 3, 2019
It’s clear that Reed wasn’t given a fair trial and that alone should put an end to this harsh sentence. His execution is scheduled for November 20, 2019, so we need all hands on deck.
Please sign the petition to urge Governor Abbott to stop this execution before another innocent man is killed.
Petition ——-> freeRodneyReed.com
