Rodney Reed
(pictured) presented four days of testimony in a
Bastrop County courthouse in an attempt to establish his innocence of the murder of Stacy Stites, as activists, religious leaders, and members of Reed’s family rallied in support of his case.
The hearing, which is expected to take two weeks, began on July 19, 2021, with Reed’s case for innocence. His lawyers presented evidence that Reed, who is Black, was having an affair with Stites, who is white; that Stites was actually murdered by her abusive fiancé, Jimmy Fennell; and that Fennell, who at that time was a police officer in Giddings, Texas, had framed Reed for the murder. Numerous witnesses testified that testified that they had seen Stites together with Reed on prior occasions, heard Fennell threaten to kill her if she cheated on him, and heard Fennell admit to the killing. Two forensics experts testified that Stites died hours earlier than the prosecution had claimed, at a time that Fennell had said she was w
BASTROP Rodney Reed’s defense team presented witnesses Wednesday who contradicted prosecutors’ assertions that Stacey Stites did not know Rodney Reed and that she was killed earlier than they say she was.
Reed received the death penalty after he was convicted in 1998 of Stites strangulation. Stites body was found by the side of a rural road in Bastrop County on April 23, 1996, with Reed s sperm inside her.
The hearing on Wednesday in state District Court in Bastrop was ordered by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 2019 after defense attorneys presented new evidence they said exonerated Reed. The hearing started Monday and is expected to run two weeks.
Day 3 of Rodney Reed s hearing continues to see witness statements fox7austin.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from fox7austin.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.