Support event for Rodney Reed in Paris March 4^th, 2015

Place de la Concorde, 6pm – 8pm

Please spare the life of Rodney Reed on death row in Texas

Too much risk to execute an innocent man

Execution date: March 5^th, 2015

Background

Rodney Reed was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of 19 years old Stacey Lee Stites that occurred on April 23^rd, 1996. Reed was sentenced to death by an all white jury and has been on death row since 1998.

His conviction relies on the basis of one piece of evidence: His DNA was found in a semen sample taken from Stacey Stites’s body. Rodney Reed maintains he was engaged in a sexual relationship at the time of her tragic death.

Numerous witnesses could have testified of Rodney and Stacey were engaged in a sexual relationship, however, they did not have a chance to testify at trial.

Reed’s lawyers at the Innocence Project argue that Rodney Reed is innocent of the crime and that Stites was murdered by somebody else — most likely her fiance, originally the prime suspect and who years later was sentenced to 10 years in prison for kidnapping and improper sexual contact with a person in custody, as a Georgetown police officer.  The fiance also failed a polygraph test when asked “Did you strangle Stacey Stites?”

Rodney's family, and his supporters, believe that evidence of a black man engaged in a sexual relationship with a white woman in the small Texas town off Bastrop would have been enough to frame him for murder and send him to death row. More than a dozen relatives of Stacey Stites have also stated that they do not believe Rodney Reed is guilty of her murder.

We call to support Rodney Reed, his lawyers, his family, long time friends, and those of the victim’s family. Justice will not be done by executing an innocent man.

New Evidence of his innocence includes:

New Forensic evidence demonstrating that the State’s theory of Rodney Reed’s guilt is scientifically and medically impossible.

The original medical examiner in Rodney's case changed his opinion as to the time of death, and three respected forensic pathologist recently reviewed the evidence and concluded that Stacey Stites was likely killed long before she was alleged to have been abducted and killed by Rodney on her way to work on April 23, 1996. In fact, this new evidence provides extremely persuasive evidence that the crime was committed by Stites' fiance, an early suspect and former police officer. 

Two of the victim's former co-workers now corroborate Rodney's claims that he was having a clandestine romantic relationship with Stacey Stites.

Rodney says they kept the relationship private because it was an interracial relationship in a small town and because the victim was engaged.

Rodney Reed’s lawyers are still seeking DNA testing on the belt used to strangle the victim, clothing, and other evidence.