GUILTY TX - Stacey Stites, 19, found murdered, Bastrop, 23 April 1996 *Appeal denied*

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Execution date set in Rodney Reed murder case | KVUE

Jul 16, 2019

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Family and nun fight for retrial as man convicted by all-white jury faces death
Supporters of Rodney Reed, scheduled for execution in November, point to racial bias and questionable evidence

12 Sep 2019

"“He never had a chance.” That’s what Sandra Reed said at the start of a rally in front of the Texas governor’s mansion calling for a retrial for her son, Rodney Reed.

Reed, 51, has been on death row in Texas since 1998 and is scheduled to be executed on 20 November for murder.

But an array of supporters even beyond his own family, ranging from some relatives of the woman he was convicted of killing to a world-famous nun, argue that Reed is innocent and is a casualty of a criminal justice system beset by errors and racial bias.

In 1998, Reed, who is African American, was convicted – by an all-white jury – of the 1996 murder of 19-year-old Stacey Stites....

Reed’s lawyers filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against Texas last month, after repeatedly being thwarted in their demands for DNA testing of the murder weapon, a leather belt used to strangle Stites. His lead attorney, Bryce Benjet of the Innocence Project, said continued refusal to perform the test violates Reed’s constitutional rights....

During the original trial, DNA from the Stites case matched Reed, but he said he was having a secret affair with her to avoid scandal in a small Texas town, especially because Reed is black and Stites white.

Reed’s legal team believes new evidence would prove that Jimmy Fennell, Stites’s fiance at the time of her death, was the murderer...."

Family and nun fight for retrial as man convicted by all-white jury faces death
 
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TTF14 said:
Watched yesterday's Dr. Phil. Geez, never heard of this case, but this guy is not guilty!
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I totally agree. That "fiance" definitely is the guilty party. I can't believe that Rodney Reed took the fall for this crime. What exactly would his motive be for killing Stacey? NONE.

The Innocence Project does not take just any case. They have been working on this case for 18 or 19 years. I sure hope that they get this guy a new trial. I wonder if the good, old boys network will ever look to arrest Jimmy Fennell for this crime.

I sure hope that they can not only stop the execution but get this man a new trial. That's the very least that he deserves.

eta: I am not usually the type to jump on the "He's not guilty train, either." I really don't think that this guy is guilty.
 
Morag said:
One thing I can never understand about enthusiastic fans of the Death Penalty: Why are you so anxious for a person to be killed by the state, innocent or guilty? From some people, there seems to be a kind of blood lust for a death penalty to be carried out...

Those of us who live in non-DP states are glad to avoid the responsibility of having a killing committed in our name. I was seated (initially) in the penalty phase of the last execution carried out in my state, but they 'unseated' me when I opined that I knew the guy was guilty, but I could never vote for him to be killed.

Yes, plenty of the executed are guilty without a doubt. But life without possiblity of parole keeps the guilty and the (possibly) non guilty away from the public. It's cheaper (if that's important to you) to keep a person in prison for life than to finance him/her through endless appeals. And the survivors/families of the prisoner don't have to see his name and face in the paper for thirty or forty years. He's just another anonymous con.
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But you never know what a legislator is going to do in the future. Reed is a violent, dangerous offender who should never be let out of prison. That's why he's going to be executed.
 
Pressure mounts to keep Rodney Reed alive

From the article:
The State of Texas will execute Rodney Reed on November 20. This week, multiple events are scheduled to draw attention to Reed, who’s convicted of killing Stacey Stites in 1996.

On Monday Oct. 28, Texas state representative Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, joined law enforcement officers to file a brief with the United States Supreme Court, asking to stop the execution. Many believe Reed did not kill Stites.

“I don’t think anyone can say [Reed)] is guilty without a shadow of a doubt, and I don’t believe we should carry out the death penalty when there’s doubt about the truth of the case,” Goodwin wrote KXAN in a release.​
 
I have just heard about this case through twitter, and have been researching it (I should focus on my masters thesis instead but ehhh), I am so upset! I am against the death penalty in all cases, it is particularly infuriating this man has not been given a proper fair re-trial when suspicion, evidence, and witnesses exist that point he is innocent of murder.
 
cami said:
But you never know what a legislator is going to do in the future. Reed is a violent, dangerous offender who should never be let out of prison. That's why he's going to be executed.
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Rodney Reed is no angel. But it is far from certain that he murdered Stacey Stites. The State of Texas already has blood on its hands from those executed who were not guilty. Given the amount of information they now have about the Stacey Stites case, why would they not put the brakes on here, and investigate fully.

I'll give you an answer - because the State of Texas, Bastrop County, and perhaps you?, would rather just wrap this case up and file it away never to think of again. What's one life, surely we get most of them right in the end, right?

Rihanna, Meek Mill and T.I. tweet support for Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed
 
CrimeDawg123 said:
The governor could stop it. Right now today.
Click to expand...

I know. Every overwhelming effort is being made to request that.

I haven't posted on this thread in a couple years because it's just so emotional for me. Especially since I started working for a defense attorney, exonerating innocent defendants.

The argument against DNA testing the belt is that it was handled during the trial.

Did the racist killer fiance cop handle the belt?
If not then what is the problem?
If his DNA is on it, still proves he strangled her.
Sure, others DNA might be on it but that isn't what we are looking for.

I KNOW Rodney Reed isn't an angel. I don't CARE. The point is that I don't think he killed Stacey. There certainly isn't enough evidence he did. Even a juror has said that.

A common defense on appeal is "if this information had been presented the jury would have acquitted." Another suspect, another explanation for an injury, an alibi, etc.

That may not apply exactly in this case since a lot of the information came up after trial. However, it's the same type of concept. That juror's opinion should be considered. I can't imagine being one of the jurors if they come to believe he's innocent and he's executed anyway.

Just like I believe Stacey's family's opinion should be considered. Stacey's coworkers observation of Stacey's reaction to Rodney vs her fiance. All of that should be considered.

BOTH sides of the justice system should want the same thing.
Justice. The truth. Only guilty people convicted.
I'm not naive, I work for a defense attorney. I know it isn't how it works. However, it SHOULD be. :(
 
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