Rodney Reed: Texas; 'Dead Man Walking" nun Sister Helen Prejean has raised her voice against his execution; Major development in the forensics: At Reed’s trial in the 1990s, forensic expert Roberto Bayardo said he found Reed’s semen on Stites’ corpse — one of the principle facts used by the prosecution to prove Reed’s guilt. But Reed has said that he had a consensual relationship with Stites. A habeas corpus brief filed in court on Thursday by Reed’s lawyers with legal nonprofit organization Innocence Project says that Bayardo has since retracted his opinion, and “now admits that the forensic evidence suggests consensual intercourse between Mr. Reed and Ms. Stites more than 24 hours before her death.” This matches Reed’s account that they had a sexual encounter the day before her demise. Al Jazeera America;

STORY: 'Dead Man Walking' nun raises voice against execution of black inmate," by reporter Massoud Hayoun, published by Al Jazeera America on February 14, 2015.

SUB-HEADING: "Barring intervention by Texas, Rodney Reed will be executed on March 5 for a crime many say he didn't commit."

GIST: "Death penalty opponent Sister Helen Prejean, a Roman Catholic nun whose autobiographical account of her relationship with a prisoner inspired the 1995 blockbuster film “Dead Man Walking,” is trying to save a black Texas death row inmate from what she calls the “incurable racism” of the U.S. legal system.........At Reed’s trial in the 1990s, forensic expert Roberto Bayardo said he found Reed’s semen on Stites’ corpse — one of the principle facts used by the prosecution to prove Reed’s guilt. But Reed has said that he had a consensual relationship with Stites. A habeas corpus brief filed in court on Thursday by Reed’s lawyers with legal nonprofit organization Innocence Project says that Bayardo has since retracted his opinion, and “now admits that the forensic evidence suggests consensual intercourse between Mr. Reed and Ms. Stites more than 24 hours before her death.” This matches Reed’s account that they had a sexual encounter the day before her demise. In January 2014, Reed’s attorneys requested that DNA from items found at the scene — including Stites’ shirt and a belt used to strangle her — be tested. That request has been denied by the Bastrop County District Court. Amid negotiations with authorities, “we said, ‘We’ll pay for it — what do you have to lose?” said Bryce Benjet, one of Reed’s attorneys, adding that his former defense lawyers in the original trial that resulted in Reed’s conviction failed to mount a sufficient fight on their client’s behalf.
State and local Bastrop authorities “aren’t interested in knowing the answers,” Benjet said.........Stites’ fiancé at the time of her death, Jimmy Fennell, a white police officer, was a suspect in Stites’ death until Reed’s conviction, Benjet and local news reports said. In 2008, Fennell was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the abduction and rape of a young woman while on duty, local newspaper The Austin Chronicle said."

The entire story can be found at:

http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/2/14/dead-man-walking-nun-raises-voice-against-execution-of-black-inmate.html

 PUBLISHER'S NOTE: 

Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
 
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.

The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:

http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith

Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
 
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html
 
I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com.
 
Harold Levy; Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;