Rodney Reed
Encyclopedia
Rodney Reed is a Texas
Death Row
inmate. Rodney Reed, an African-American man from Bastrop County
, Texas, who is currently on death row for the 1996 rape and murder of Stacey Stites, 19, a white woman. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
ruled on December 17, 2008 that Reed failed to prove that prosecutors suppressed evidence in capital murder trial 10 years ago. The ruling affirms the decision from Bastrop County
Judge Reva Towslee Corbett, the daughter of the judge who presided over Reed’s original trial and conviction. Corbett concluded that there was not credible evidence that the state had done anything wrong. In October 2005, the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals, in what had been called “a rare move,” ordered the case back to the trial court to determine whether the prosecutor's conduct violated Reed’s constitutional rights.
The state’s case against Reed, who has maintained his innocence since his arrest for the crime, relied on a single piece of physical evidence: semen
matched to Reed found in Stites’ body. The prosecution also showed that he had been previously been accused of and tried for rape
, though he was acquitted and claimed the sex was consensual. They then showed that Reed had been linked to two unsolved rapes through DNA
testing since the murder and at the punishment phase of his trial the prosecution called two former girlfriends of Reed to the stand who testified that he had raped them during their relationship.
Reed, who was in jail on cocaine charges when questioned about the murder denied ever knowing Stites and signed a statement to that effect. However, during his trial Reed explained the DNA evidence in the Stites case by claiming he had an affair with her. The affair was kept quiet, Reed says, because he is black and Stites is white, and also because Stites' fiancé, Jimmy Fennell Jr., was a Giddings police officer. Reed testified he had sex with Stites during the early hours of April 22, a full day before her murder. However, Travis County Medical Examiner Dr. Roberto Bayardo testified that the recovered semen had been deposited recently, thus contradicting Reed's testimony. Reed claimed he denied knowing Stites during questioning because he felt unsafe admitting to the affair.
Reed's defenders posed an alternative theory. They claimed Fennell found out about the affair and murdered Stites. This theory is supported by a number of pieces of evidence. One is a state police report analyzing DNA taken from two beer cans found near Stites' body; the report excludes Reed but does not exclude two other men — police officers and friends of Fennell. This lab report was never provided to the Reed's defense prior to or during his trial. An appellate judge later ruled that not giving the beer can evidence to the defense was not sufficient to warrant a new trial. Aside from Reed's semen, and despite the brutal nature of the killing, there was also a lack of other physical evidence tying him to the crime scene. There were also no witnesses who could place Reed anywhere near the time and place of the crime scene.
At the March evidentiary hearing, two witnesses offered testimony that seemed to shift the onus of suspicion off Reed. The first, Martha Barnett
, testified that she saw Stites and Fennell at a convenience store
parking lot around 5 am. The two appeared to be arguing. This places Stites alive, with her fiance, two hours after the prosecution’s theory holds Reed killed her.
The second, Mary Blackwell, a police officer in the Dallas area, testified that she was a member of the same police academy class as Fennell. She told the court that she remembers that Fennell remarked to several class members he would kill his girlfriend by strangling her if he was ever to find that she had cheated on him. When asked how he would make sure his fingerprints could not be lifted from her neck, Blackwell testified that Fennell said he would use a belt. Stites was found strangled with a belt.
Both of these witnesses testified that they made this information known to the Bastrop County District Attorney’s office through their own representation during Reed’s trial. The office categorically denies this, claiming no one in their office knew of the witnesses until after Reed had been convicted and sentenced to death.
Reed is the subject of the documentary film State vs. Reed, produced by Frank Bustoz and Ryan Polomski. Partly as a result of this film, publicity in the Austin Chronicle
, and efforts by such groups as Amnesty International
, Campaign to End the Death Penalty
, and Texas Students Against the Death Penalty
, Reed recently had a hearing to determine if he is eligible for a retrial.
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
Death Row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
inmate. Rodney Reed, an African-American man from Bastrop County
Bastrop County, Texas
Bastrop County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2006, the population was 71,700. Its county seat is Bastrop. Bastrop County is named for Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron de Bastrop , an early Dutch settler who assisted Stephen F...
, Texas, who is currently on death row for the 1996 rape and murder of Stacey Stites, 19, a white woman. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the court of last resort for all criminal matters in the State of Texas, United States. The Court, which is based in the Supreme Court Building in Downtown Austin, is composed of a Presiding Judge and eight judges....
ruled on December 17, 2008 that Reed failed to prove that prosecutors suppressed evidence in capital murder trial 10 years ago. The ruling affirms the decision from Bastrop County
Bastrop County, Texas
Bastrop County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of 2006, the population was 71,700. Its county seat is Bastrop. Bastrop County is named for Felipe Enrique Neri, Baron de Bastrop , an early Dutch settler who assisted Stephen F...
Judge Reva Towslee Corbett, the daughter of the judge who presided over Reed’s original trial and conviction. Corbett concluded that there was not credible evidence that the state had done anything wrong. In October 2005, the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals, in what had been called “a rare move,” ordered the case back to the trial court to determine whether the prosecutor's conduct violated Reed’s constitutional rights.
The state’s case against Reed, who has maintained his innocence since his arrest for the crime, relied on a single piece of physical evidence: semen
Semen
Semen is an organic fluid, also known as seminal fluid, that may contain spermatozoa. It is secreted by the gonads and other sexual organs of male or hermaphroditic animals and can fertilize female ova...
matched to Reed found in Stites’ body. The prosecution also showed that he had been previously been accused of and tried for rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, though he was acquitted and claimed the sex was consensual. They then showed that Reed had been linked to two unsolved rapes through DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
testing since the murder and at the punishment phase of his trial the prosecution called two former girlfriends of Reed to the stand who testified that he had raped them during their relationship.
Reed, who was in jail on cocaine charges when questioned about the murder denied ever knowing Stites and signed a statement to that effect. However, during his trial Reed explained the DNA evidence in the Stites case by claiming he had an affair with her. The affair was kept quiet, Reed says, because he is black and Stites is white, and also because Stites' fiancé, Jimmy Fennell Jr., was a Giddings police officer. Reed testified he had sex with Stites during the early hours of April 22, a full day before her murder. However, Travis County Medical Examiner Dr. Roberto Bayardo testified that the recovered semen had been deposited recently, thus contradicting Reed's testimony. Reed claimed he denied knowing Stites during questioning because he felt unsafe admitting to the affair.
Reed's defenders posed an alternative theory. They claimed Fennell found out about the affair and murdered Stites. This theory is supported by a number of pieces of evidence. One is a state police report analyzing DNA taken from two beer cans found near Stites' body; the report excludes Reed but does not exclude two other men — police officers and friends of Fennell. This lab report was never provided to the Reed's defense prior to or during his trial. An appellate judge later ruled that not giving the beer can evidence to the defense was not sufficient to warrant a new trial. Aside from Reed's semen, and despite the brutal nature of the killing, there was also a lack of other physical evidence tying him to the crime scene. There were also no witnesses who could place Reed anywhere near the time and place of the crime scene.
At the March evidentiary hearing, two witnesses offered testimony that seemed to shift the onus of suspicion off Reed. The first, Martha Barnett
Martha Barnett
Martha Walters Barnett was the President of the American Bar Association from 2000 to 2001. At present she is a partner at the Holland & Knight Law firm. Martha Barnett attended Tulane University for her Bachelors degree, and she received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Florida...
, testified that she saw Stites and Fennell at a convenience store
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
parking lot around 5 am. The two appeared to be arguing. This places Stites alive, with her fiance, two hours after the prosecution’s theory holds Reed killed her.
The second, Mary Blackwell, a police officer in the Dallas area, testified that she was a member of the same police academy class as Fennell. She told the court that she remembers that Fennell remarked to several class members he would kill his girlfriend by strangling her if he was ever to find that she had cheated on him. When asked how he would make sure his fingerprints could not be lifted from her neck, Blackwell testified that Fennell said he would use a belt. Stites was found strangled with a belt.
Both of these witnesses testified that they made this information known to the Bastrop County District Attorney’s office through their own representation during Reed’s trial. The office categorically denies this, claiming no one in their office knew of the witnesses until after Reed had been convicted and sentenced to death.
Reed is the subject of the documentary film State vs. Reed, produced by Frank Bustoz and Ryan Polomski. Partly as a result of this film, publicity in the Austin Chronicle
Austin Chronicle
The Austin Chronicle is an alternative weekly, tabloid-style newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demographic...
, and efforts by such groups as Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
, Campaign to End the Death Penalty
Campaign to End the Death Penalty
The Campaign to End the Death Penalty is a national anti-death penalty organization in the United States, built on the philosophy that death row inmates and their family members must be at the center of fighting to abolish the death penalty...
, and Texas Students Against the Death Penalty
Texas Students Against the Death Penalty
Texas Students Against the Death Penalty is the first student-run anti-death penalty organization in Texas that works to end the death penalty in Texas through campaigns of public education and the promotion of youth activism.- History :...
, Reed recently had a hearing to determine if he is eligible for a retrial.
External links
- Rodney Reed's official website
- Texas Department of Criminal Justice "Offender Information"
- Austin Chronicle: Who Killed Stacey Stites?
- Austin Chronicle: 'Somebody's Got to Pay'
- Austin Chronicle: Hidden Evidence?
- Austin Chronicle: 'State vs. Reed' Gaining Steam: Pair's First Doc Becoming the Story
- Austin-American Statesman: High-profile Bastrop case examined in documentary film
- AlterNet: Dixieland Justice: the Slow Murder of Rodney Reed
- http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A719137