In bipartisan plea, lawmakers urge delay to Rodney Reed execution (original) (raw)

A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers, 13 Republicans and 13 Democrats, urged Gov. Greg Abbott to delay the Nov. 20 execution of Rodney Reed, saying Tuesday that more time is needed to examine “compelling” evidence that raises doubts about the Bastrop man’s guilt.

In a letter also sent to the Board of Pardons and Paroles, the 26 members of the House Criminal Justice Reform Caucus said executing Reed without certainty about his guilt would erode public trust in capital punishment and Texas justice.

“Granting Mr. Reed a reprieve until the new developments in his case are fully resolved will allow the cloud of doubt surrounding his guilt to be lifted,” the letter said. “Only then should our justice system proceed, one way or the other, with decisions that cannot be undone.”

Leading forensic experts have questioned the time of death previously established for Stacey Stites, who was found dead along a rural road near Bastrop in 1996, saying she was killed hours before she could have encountered Reed. New witnesses also have come forward to corroborate Reed’s claim that he and Stites were having an affair, explaining the presence of his semen inside her body, and to support defense claims that Stites was most likely killed by her fiancé, Jimmy Fennell.

In addition, Reed has filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to force DNA testing of the murder weapon and other as-yet untested crime scene evidence that was likely touched by the killer.

A delay, the lawmakers argued, would “prevent a rush to execution before these new leads are properly explored” and allow “evidentiary gaps” to be filled with additional investigation and testing.

State Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, co-chairman of the justice reform caucus, said the letter was not about support or opposition for the death penalty; it was about ensuring that justice is done.

“It's unconscionable to choose finality over certainty, especially in a death penalty case,” he said.

The letter was signed by Republican Reps. Brad Buckley of Killeen, Briscoe Cain of Deer Park, Giovanni Capriglione of Southlake, James Frank of Wichita Falls, Todd Hunter of Corpus Christi, Kyle Kacal of College Station, Matt Krause of Fort Worth, Jeff Leach of Plano, Tan Parker of Flower Mound, Dade Phelan of Beaumont, Drew Springer of Muenster, Steve Toth of The Woodlands and James White of Hillister.

In addition to Moody, Democrats who signed the letter were Reps. John Bucy III of Austin, Garnet Coleman of Houston, Nicole Collier of Fort Worth, Gina Hinojosa of Austin, Jessica González of Dallas, Mary González of Clint, Vikki Goodwin of Austin, Ida Minjarez of San Antonio, Victoria Neave of Dallas, Toni Rose of Dallas, Senfronia Thompson of Houston and Erin Zwiener of Driftwood.

Meantime, defense lawyers have challenged the validity of the order setting Reed's execution date, arguing that it was signed by a visiting judge whose time overseeing Reed's case had ended.

A motion filed Monday asks state District Judge Carson Campbell to void the execution order, saying Visiting Judge Doug Shaver's assignment to handle Reed's case had ended before Shaver signed the order in July. Reed's case should have reverted to Campbell, the motion argued.

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