INSIDER
The Supreme Court has ruled for a Texas death row inmate who's seeking DNA testing to show he should be ineligible for execution.
The Innocence Project, celebrities and others worked for an execution stay for Rodney Reed, amid serious questions over his conviction. (CNN) - The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals blocked the execution of Rodney Reed Friday, allowing a lower court to consider Reed's claim that the state presented false testimony and that he is innocent. Once the case heads back to an appeals court, judges will determine if Reed gets a new trial. His attorney, Robert Phillips, said his client denies any involvement in Stites' death, and he said the stories were lacking in credibility. The Innocence Project noted that Reed, who is black, was convicted by an all-white jury.
(CNN) - Reality star Kim Kardashian West says she was with Rodney Reed when he received the news that his execution would be delayed. The stay of Reed's execution means the case will go back to a state judge in Bastrop County where he was convicted. Reed's case has drawn the attention of lawmakers, religious leaders and celebrities such as Kardashian West and Rihanna, and more than 2.8 million people signed a petition on freerodneyreed.com asking Abbott to halt the execution. Kardashian West wrote in her post that Reed's case has received so much support "... because of a deep belief that every man or woman accused of a crime - especially one punishable by death - deserves the chance to have all available evidence considered." Kardashian West, who is currently in a four-year apprenticeship to take the California bar exam, has been working with activists and lawyers on a national bipartisan advocacy group on criminal justice reform.
The Innocence Project, celebrities and others work for an execution stay for Rodney Reed, amid serious questions over his conviction. (CNN) - In Republican-led Texas, a state that executes the most death row inmates, a GOP lawmaker is urging the governor to delay the execution of Rodney Reed. New witness affidavits, which come from neighbors, colleagues, and associates of Stites and Fennell, paint their relationship as abusive and difficult. One witness said that at Stites' funeral, Fennell said something like, "You got what you deserved," while looking his fiance's body. His attorney, Robert Phillips, said his client denies any involvement in Stites' death, and he said the stories were lacking in credibility.
Rodney Reed has spent more than 21 years on death row for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites. (CNN) - Lawyers for Rodney Reed, the Texas inmate set to be executed next week, said in a legal filing that testimony from seven new witnesses help to prove his innocence. Reed was sentenced to death more than 20 years ago for the 1996 assault, rape and strangling of 19-year-old Stacey Stites in Bastrop, Texas. His attorney, Robert Phillips, said his client denies any involvement in Stites' death, and he said the stories were lacking in credibility. Bryce Benjet, a senior staff attorney with the Innocence Project, called the case a "miscarriage of justice."
(CNN) - The family of Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed, who is scheduled to be executed Nov. 20, told NBC Nightly News they'll keep fighting for him "until the end." "I'm hoping that we get a fair and just judge, and my baby will be home," Reed's mother, Sandra Reed, told the network in an interview. Rodney Reed has spent more than 21 years on death row for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites. "I know that there is somebody out there feeling us when we speak," Reed's brother Rodrick Reed. "That's a fight that we will see all the way through, until the end," Rodrick Reed said.
The Innocence Project, celebrities and others work for an execution stay for Rodney Reed, amid serious questions over his conviction. Distributed by LAKANA. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Rodney Reed has spent more than 21 years on death row for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites. LIVINGSTON Texas - The outcry is growing from an army of supporters, including celebrities, clergy and state lawmakers, trying to stop the execution of Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed, who is set to die in less than two weeks. They point to new witness accounts and evidence they say exonerates Reed. But critics, including the lead prosecutor in Reed's case, say there is overwhelming evidence that he is guilty. "Rodney Reed is not innocent at all and all these people that think he's innocent, I'm so sorry, they're so blinded," Schlueter, now 42, said about Stites' murder.
Rodney Reed has spent over 21 years on death row for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites. (Ralph Barrera/American-Statesman/AP)(CNN) - Less than a month before Rodney Reed is set to be executed in Texas, a former prison inmate claims someone else confessed to the murder that sent Reed to prison. Reed has spent more than 21 years on death row for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites in Bastrop, Texas. Former inmate Arthur Snow Jr. filed an affidavit in court earlier this week saying Stites' fianc, Jimmy Fennell, confessed to the murder years ago. Snow realized Reed was in prison for a murder that Fennell had confessed to him, Snow said in his affidavit.
(CNN) - Kim Kardashian West is joining the fight to save a Texas death row inmate set to be executed next month. Greg Abbott on Saturday about the upcoming execution of Rodney Reed. Reed has spent over 21 years on death row for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites in Bastrop, Texas. The court eventually ruled against Reed, which led prosecutors to seek a new execution date. She has been working with lawyers and activists in a national bipartisan advocacy group for criminal justice reform.
