Rodney Reed is believed to be wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit. He still sits in jail today.
Reed was condemned to death for the murder of 19-year-old Stacey Stites in Bastrop County more than 23 years ago. Since the 1996 murder, Reed has maintained his innocence.
Reed first denied knowing Stites, but after his DNA was found in her body, he claimed that he was having a secret affair with her and that they had consensual intercourse the day before she died.
His conviction and execution sentence is still debated today.
The Supreme Court agreed to take up the case of death row inmate Rodney Reed, who is seeking post-conviction DNA testing of evidence at the crime scene. https://t.co/hq7aYb2QMU
— CNN (@CNN) April 25, 2022
Where Is Rodney Reed Today?
Rodney Reed is still in prison as he fights for his innocence. Recently there have been updates to his case.
He is attempting to overturn the validity of a state’s post-conviction DNA statute in order to test a belt found at the crime scene. Lower courts ruled that his motion was banned because he filed it too late.
However, the Supreme Court has consented to rule on a legal question that might lead to DNA testing of evidence used to convict Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed.
The court will decide whether the statute of limitations for DNA testing begins when a state trial judge denies testing or when all litigation, including appeals, is completed.
NOW: US Supreme Court accepts case by Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed to determine when the statute of limitations begins running on attempts to seek DNA tests on crime scene evidence.
Reed, of Bastrop, was twice within days of execution before courts stepped in.— Chuck Lindell (@chucklindell) April 25, 2022
What happened to Stacey Stites?
Stacey Stites, a 19-year-old Giddings, Texas resident, was discovered dead in April 1996. Stites failed to show up for work and was discovered dead several hours later.
When Stites went missing, she was just weeks away from marrying her fiancé.
Rodney Reed, the man whose DNA was found in Stites’ body, was found guilty of her murder and sentenced to death. Sadly, he has been on death row for 22 years.
He has maintained his innocence for a long time, claiming that he and Stites had a private, consensual relationship. That, according to Stites’ relatives, is a lie.