This 4th of July, take FIVE minutes to FREE RODNEY REED!
Stefanie Collins
In case you haven't heard, Judge Burt Carnes of Williamson County rejected the negotiated plea deal between the Williamson County DA's office and Jimmy Fennell in which he was to be sentenced to 2 years in the state jail for sexual misconduct and 10 years probation for kidnapping. Under the plea Fennell was not required to register as a sex offender. He is now set to stand trial on September 8 in Williamson County on charges of sexual assault and kidnapping.
These stories are generating attention to Rodney's case as well as the cases pending against Fennell, so now more than ever we need to use the public's growing awareness to push for a new trial for our innocent brother on death row.
Please take five minutes to go to www.freerodneyreed.org and sign the petition calling for a new trial for Rodney Reed. Then, forward this to five friends who you haven't asked to sign the petition yet. I have attached the newest version of the fact sheet on Rodney's case created by the Campaign to End the Death Penalty and pasted it below (in case the attachment won't work properly); you can also send this to your friends in case they haven't heard about Rodney Reed.
As always, thank you for your support and FREE RODNEY REED!
Stefanie Collins
Campaign to End the Death Penalty -- Austin TX
www.freerodneyreed.org
NEW TRIAL FOR RODNEY REED!
INNOCENT ON TEXAS DEATH ROW!
Rodney Reed has been on Texas death row since 1998. He was convicted of killing Bastrop woman Stacey Stites in 1996. The Court of Criminal Appeals recently ordered new hearings in front of judge Reva Towslee-Corbett (daughter of the original trial judge). In March 2006 in Bastrop the judge heard of eyewitness evidence, which placed the victim with men other than Rodney Reed shortly before the murder, and that was shown to have been hidden from the original defense attorneys. However, the judge declined to recommend that the CCA grant a new trial. The case is pending in the CCA, who could rule for a new trial or to deny relief. Hidden eyewitness evidence is not the only problem in this case. Consider these facts:
§ The prosecution’s only evidence linking Rodney to the crime was semen DNA taken from Stacey’s body. However, defense attorneys at trial failed to call witnesses to testify to a known sexual relationship between Rodney and Stacey, which would have accounted for the DNA evidence. They also failed to call two alibi witnesses.
§ Not only was the crime scene investigation shoddy, photos taken at the morgue show marks that are not seen in photos taken at the crime scene, including wounds to the face, chest and shoulder. There is also over an hour of time unaccounted for during the transfer of the body from crime scene to the morgue, which, taken with the mysterious wounds, raise questions about the handling of the body.
§ During the initial investigation the main suspect was Giddings police officer Jimmy Fennell, who was Stacey’s fiancée. Fennell failed a polygraph test on the question “Did you strangle Stacey Stites?”
§ Police failed to search Stacey and Fennell’s apartment, the last place she was known to be alive. Additionally, police released the truck Stacey was driving the night of the murder to Jimmy Fennell. Fennell sold the truck shortly after.
§ Two beer cans found at the scene of the crime tested positive for the DNA of two police officers and the victim. This test was not reported to the defense at the time of the trial.
- Rodney Reed, a black man, was found guilty of murdering Stacey Stites, a white woman, by an all white jury in Bastrop. Statistics have shown that racial bias exists in the application of the death penalty, including the fact that although over 50% of murder victims are black, over 83% of the victims in death penalty cases are white.
Email cedpa...@gmail.com for more info or call 494-0667
Freerodneyreed.org myspace.com/cedpaustin nodeathpenalty.org