Rodney Reed was scheduled to be executed on November 20,2019, but doubt over Rodney Reed's guilt led to bipartisan support for a stay of his execution from Texas state legislators, as well as numerous celebrities and other public figures.
21 Facts About Rodney Reed
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Rodney Reed's execution was further delayed in 2023 when the Supreme Court authorized Reed to seek DNA testing on the murder weapon.
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Rodney Reed's father, Walter, was a native of Bastrop, Texas, and an Air Force veteran while his mother, Sandra, was a nurse.
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Rodney Reed was raised with his six brothers in Texas and attended Hirschi High School in Wichita Falls, Texas.
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Rodney Reed played on the school's football team and was a state Golden Gloves champion boxer.
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Rodney Reed's body had been partially burned, and her shirt was found nearby.
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Rodney Reed's fiance said he last saw her around 3:00 am after the couple showered together and she left for work.
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The authorities began to suspect Rodney Reed had been involved in the Stites murder based on similarities in the case to an attack on another woman six months later on November 9,1996.
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Rodney Reed was detained by police based on Schlueter's description, and she subsequently picked him out of a photo line-up.
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Rodney Reed was officially charged with the murder of Stacey Stites on April 4,1997, and held without bond.
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Rodney Reed pointed to a photo of Stites as looking similar to this woman.
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Rodney Reed was convicted on May 18,1998, after a jury deliberation of six hours.
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Rodney Reed was sentenced to death on May 28,1998, after a deliberation of four hours.
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Rodney Reed's attorneys have subsequently argued that the broken belt used in the murder has never been tested for DNA and that forensic experts have admitted to making errors in their testimony.
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Rodney Reed's case has since been taken up by the Innocence Project.
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Rodney Reed was scheduled to be executed on January 14,2015, but the execution was rescheduled to March 5,2015, based on a request by the state.
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Rodney Reed's execution was later rescheduled for November 20,2019.
18.
On February 24,2020, the Supreme Court announced that it would not be taking up Rodney Reed's appeal, citing ongoing litigation in lower courts.
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Rodney Reed applied to the Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari, a request which was rejected without comment in July 2024.
20.
Rodney Reed argued that the belt used to commit the murder was never tested for DNA and that the state's statute of limitations on when a DNA test could be performed on evidence was unconstitutional, and claimed he should have been permitted to begin federal appeals once all state litigation had been completed, rather than immediately after the initial ruling that denied the testing.
21.
Rodney Reed was the subject of the 2006 documentary film State vs Rodney Reed and a 2018 episode of the CNN series Death Row Stories.