IMMORAL: Stacey Stites was sexaully assaulted and murdered and Rodeny Reed was found guilty of this crime he did not commit.
By Laila Menchaca, Staff Writer
Rodney Reed was found guilty of Stites’ death and put on death row in Bastrop, Texas by an all-white jury in 1998. He was convicted of this crime at the age of 31 and he is now 53; he has been on death row for 22 years. There is evidence available that proves his innocence, however when the defense attorneys wished to present this evidence, their requests were denied. Reed admitted to having a secret affair with Stites and DNA evidence proves this, as well as Stites’ cousin’s confirmation of the affair taking place. Stites ex-fiancé,Jimmy Fennel, had evidence against him that proved he was responsible for the death of Stites. However, Reed was still convicted guilty and Texas scheduled Reed to be executed on November 20.
Since then, many people have taken action including American writer and civil rights activist, Shaun King. He has helped build the platform FreeRodneyReed.com that is dedicated to help inform the public about Reed’s case and have them sign a petition to help stop the execution. This social justice petition has since gained nearly three million signatures. Many phone calls were made in hopes of reaching the attention of Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to stop the execution. Governor Abbott has halted an execution in the past and King believed he would be able to do it again for Reed’s case if the public was persuasive and consistent enough.
Shaun King was dedicating himself to Reed’s case up until the execution date. “ I am stopping everything in my life for these next 16 days to help save this man’s life but I need your help,” writes Shaun King as his caption on an Instagram post. King as sent out emails with phone numbers people can call that will direct them to elected officials that are involved in the case. “ Let them know you are calling to advocate on behalf of Rodney Reed,” explains King. King instructs the callers on what they should say and made it easy for people all over the country to help take action. The Innocence Project and the Action PAC have helped contribute to the fight for Reed’s justice and the people’s signatures and phone calls continue to increase.
Dr. Phil has dedicated two episodes on his show to present the evidence used in Reed’s case. When he asked the audience for their opinion on Reed’s conviction, 99% believed he was innocent and wrongfully accused of a crime he did not commit. Celebrities have contributed to the petition and commented on Reed’s case in hopes of being able to bring more attention to the case and raise awareness. Kim Kardashian West personally visited Reed when he was days away from the scheduled execution. “It was extremely emotional and he said praise Jesus and I could just feel his soul when he said that,” states the reality TV star when news broke out about the cancelled execution date. “When we got the news it was just this overwhelming sigh of relief and hope,” shares West.
With the help of the country, Reed’s execution was held and the fight now is being able to get him a new trial. Reed has since been relieved but still suffers the trauma of being incarcerated for 18 years. This movement has proved that we can fight for injustice when we all come together and take action on what is right.