The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has granted Rodney Reed a stay of execution. He will no longer be put to death by the state on Nov. 20.
After pleas from millions of people, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has granted Rodney Reed a stay of execution. He will no longer be put to death by the state on Nov. 20.
On Friday, Reed’s legal team, The Innocence Project, tweeted that the court granted him an indefinite stay.
CBS News reports that Reed’s legal team argued investigators failed to disclose crucial information that could have cleared him and instead focused on false testimony during his 1998 murder trial.
The court determined the claims needed to be reviewed more and remanded the case back to the trial court.
Reed has been on death row for 21 years, convicted of the rape and murder of 19-year-old Stacey Stites in 1996. Reed maintains his innocence, saying the two had an affair, and consensual sex the day before she died.
New witnesses have recently come forward, claiming Stites’ fiancee, Jimmy Fennell may be responsible for her murder. Fennell, an ex-cop in Texas, served 10 years in prison on unrelated charges of improper sexual conduct and kidnapping.
Fennell has denied any involvement in Stities’ death. His lawyer, Bob Phillips believes Reed’s conviction should stand.
Beyonce, Meek Mill, Rihanna and Kim Kardashian-West are among Reed’s most famous supporters.
Kardashian-West met with Reed on Friday, and was with him when he learned his execution was to be indefinitely stayed.
“Words cannot describe the relief and hope that swept over the room in that moment,” she wrote on Instagram.
“We have heard people all around the globe speak up. And all because of a deep belief that every man or woman accused of a crime - especially one punishable by death - deserves to have all available evidence considered.”
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