https://themilitant.com/2019/11/16/stop-the-execution-of-rodney-reed-family-insists-do-the-right-thing/
Stop the execution of Rodney Reed! Family insists: ‘Do the right thing’
By Alyson Kennedy
Vol. 83/No. 43
November 25, 2019
Nov. 9 protest in Austin, Texas, against execution of Rodney Reed, on
death row over 20 years.
Texas Observer/Gus Bova
Nov. 9 protest in Austin, Texas, against execution of Rodney Reed, on
death row over 20 years.
DALLAS — “Free Rodney Reed!” chanted hundreds of people at the Texas
Capitol in Austin Nov. 9, protesting his scheduled execution. The rally
followed an hourslong demonstration outside the Texas governor’s
mansion. Reed, who has been on death row for more than 20 years, is set
to be killed by lethal injection Nov. 20.
“The amount of people who have come out is beyond our wildest dreams,”
said Reed’s brother, Rodrick, at the rally, asking for Gov. Greg Abbott
to intervene. “It is a cruel and inhumane punishment to make our family
to wait until the last day. We aren’t asking you to do nothing special.
No favors. Just do the right thing.”
Reed, who is African American, was convicted by an all-white jury in
1998 for the rape and murder two years earlier of 19-year-old Stacey
Stites, a cashier in Bastrop. Stites was Caucasian. Reed, now 51, has
maintained his innocence since his arrest.
Reed was in a consensual relationship with Stites, but she was living
with her fiancé, Jimmy Fennell Jr., a cop in nearby Georgetown who was
the initial suspect. Reed was arrested and convicted after his DNA was
found in her body. Reed said the two had sex, but there was no physical
evidence linking him to the killing. For years, the Reed family has
demanded DNA testing on the belt used to strangle Stites, to no avail.
Fennell is in prison for kidnapping and sexually assaulting another
woman. After Reed’s conviction, witnesses came forth to say Fennell
threatened to kill Stites and that he has confessed. Other prisoners say
Fennell bragged that he “murdered his wife for sleeping with a Black
man.” Witnesses who attended Stites’ funeral say Fennell told them, “She
got what she deserved.”
The campaign to stop the execution has growing support. More than 2.7
million people have signed an online petition. Support for Abbott to
call off Reed’s execution has come from celebrities, including Beyonce,
Kim Kardashian West, Meek Mill, Rhianna and Oprah Winfrey. Sen. Ted
Cruz, Austin Mayor Steve Adler, and several other elected Texas
officials, both Democrats and Republicans, have called for review of the
new evidence.
Another rally in support of Reed is being organized for Nov. 14 at the
governor’s mansion in Austin.
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In This Issue
Front Page Articles •Back strikers fighting Asarco union busting!
•UN vote: End Washington’s economic war against Cuba
•Sales of ‘Turn to Industry’ book boosts fall campaign
•Stop the execution of Rodney Reed! Family insists: ‘Do the right thing’
•Only the working class can stop capitalism’s plunder of land, labor
•Tens of thousands in Iraq protest interference by Tehran, US rulers
Feature Articles •Nigeria conference: ‘Cuba has always stood by Africa’
Also In This Issue •Canadian election reflects crisis of capitalist rulers
•Stakes in Gibsons’ fight against Oberlin College smear campaign
•Georgia cop imprisoned for killing Anthony Hill
•Fall Campaign to sell Militant subscriptions and books Oct. 5 - Dec. 10
(Week 5)
•Socialist Workers Party Fund Drive Oct. 5 - Dec. 10 (Week 5)
Editorials •All out for Asarco strike rally Nov. 18!
On the Picket Line •Striking Minnesota steelworkers rally against 2-tier
wages system
•Virginia bus drivers strike contractor for equal pay
•British Columbia hotel workers gain solidarity in contract fight
Books of the Month •‘Big capital rules through its two parties. It
supports both.’
25, 50 and 75 years ago
Letters
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David Hume
“ In our reasonings concerning matter of fact, there are all imaginable degrees
of assurance, from the highest certainty to the lowest species of moral
evidence. A wise man, therefore, proportions his belief to the evidence. ”
― David Hume,