Texas Appeals Court Stops Execution Of Rodney Reed After Huge Public Outcry
We did it!
The execution of Rodney Reed has been stopped by the highest criminal appeals court in Texas.
That development came just hours after the Texas parole board voted unanimously Friday to recommend that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott delay Reed’s execution. The parole board had recommended a 120-day reprieve for Reed, 51.
The inmate was scheduled to die in 5 days but that has been brought to a hault due to an outcry from the public asking to look more into the evidence and an alleged confession.
Reed’s case has received support from celebrities like Beyonce, Kim Kardashian West, and Rihanna. These ladies were among more than 500,000 who have signed a charge.org petition and almost 3 million who signed the free Rodney petition calling for a stay of the execution.
Reed also received support from political figures such as Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who said there was a “remarkable bipartisan coalition” backing Reed because of what he called “credible evidence” of his innocence.
via USA Today:
Reed, who is black, was convicted of killing Stacey Stites, who was white, but his family and supporters have maintained his innocence, accusing her fiance, Jimmy Fennell, of the killing.
The case took a dramatic turn in October when a witness, who is a former Bastrop County deputy, said that Fennell, the fiance, knew she was having an affair. Key evidence in Reed’s conviction was DNA evidence on Stites body.
In a petition filed on Nov. 12, eight additional witnesses came forward to support Reed, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The new witnesses backed Reed’s claim that he was having an affair with Stites. They also supported claims that Fennell had been involved in the killing.
Another witness, who is a former inmate, claims Fennell confessed to the killing while in prison in 2010.
Reed had been scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on November 20, 2019, but that is no more.
