A man known as Rodney Reed has been on death row for the last 21 years for a crime he did not commit. In 1996 Reed was charged with rape a murder of Stacy Stites in Bastrop, Texas.He is set to be Executed on November 20th
Former inmate Arthur Snow Jr. filed an affidavit in court earlier this week saying Stites Fiance, Jimmy Fennell, confessed to the murder of his wife to be years ago. Fennel sought out for protection through Snow, who was then a member of the Aryan Brotherhood Gang. Snow states in his Affidavit that he was with Fennell in the prison yard when Fennell started bragging about Killing Stites. “Jimmy said his Fiance had been sleeping around with a black man behind his back,” Snow wrote. “Toward the end of the conversation, Jimmy said confidently, ‘I had to kill my n*****- loving fiance'” he added. “My impression was that Jimmy felt safe, even proud, sharing this information with me because I was a member of the Aryan Brotherhood. I think Jimmy assumed his confession would impress me and earn him credibility with the Aryan Brotherhood.
Snow said he learned about Reed’s case a few years ago when he was in jail for a different offense, he saw a photo of Fennell along with an article about Reed in the newspaper. Snow realized Reed was in prison for the crime Fennell confessed to him. Snow said in his affidavit. While jailed more recently, Snow came forward after he saw another article about Reeds case.
Snow is one of the few witnesses who have come forward in recent weeks suggesting that Reed is innocent.Bryce Benjet, a senior staff attorney at the Innocence Project and Reed’s lead counsel, said evidence clearly shows that Reed did not kill Stites.
Reed’s execution is approaching quickly, meaning Texas is extremely close to executing an innocent man,” Benjet said in a statement. Between the medical and scientific evidence, and multiple new, credible witnesses, the original case trial has been completely deconstructed and disproven.
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian West urged Gov. Greg Abbott last month to intervene in the case and “do the right thing” for Reed. Celebrities, including Rihanna, LL Cool J, Gigi Hadid and others have joined Kim in trying to stop the execution.
One Click!!! SIGN this petition if you don’t believe the Government should kill an innocent man!!! @GovAbbott https://t.co/L3xrvn7MJO
— Rihanna (@rihanna) November 4, 2019