PASSAGE ONE OF THE DAY: "The application for clemency comes on the heels of Snow’s statement. Snow, who became friendly with Fennell while incarcerated together at the Stevenson Unit in Cuero, Texas, just recently came forward and stated that Fennell confided in him: “Jimmy said his fiancé had been sleeping around with a black man behind his back. By the way, Jimmy spoke about this experience, I could tell that it deeply angered him. Toward the end of the conversation Jimmy said confidently, ‘I had to kill my n*****-loving fiancée.’”
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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "In addition to this witness, an amicus brief was filed this past Monday in the United States Supreme Court by a group of Texas law enforcement officers in support of Reed’s innocence."
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RELEASE: "Rodney Reed Files for Clemency Amidst New Affidavit Revealing Jimmy Fennell’s Murder Confession,' published by 'Rodney Reed is innocent on November 1, 2019.
SUB-HEADING: "With
the state’s entire case disproven and a new witness to Fennell’s
confession, Texas is on the verge of executing an innocent man."
GIST: "Today, the legal team for Rodney Reed, who is set to be executed on November 20, 2019, for a crime he did not commit, filed an application for clemency with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. The application requests the Board recommend that Governor Abbott grant a commutation of Reed’s death sentence in light of the mounting new evidence of his innocence, including a new sworn affidavit by fellow prison mate and Aryan Brotherhood member, Arthur Snow, stating that Jimmy Fennell, the fiancé of victim Stacey Stites, confessed to her murder.
Stop the execution now by signing this petition.
GIST: "Today, the legal team for Rodney Reed, who is set to be executed on November 20, 2019, for a crime he did not commit, filed an application for clemency with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. The application requests the Board recommend that Governor Abbott grant a commutation of Reed’s death sentence in light of the mounting new evidence of his innocence, including a new sworn affidavit by fellow prison mate and Aryan Brotherhood member, Arthur Snow, stating that Jimmy Fennell, the fiancé of victim Stacey Stites, confessed to her murder.
Stop the execution now by signing this petition.
The application, filed by Reed’s attorneys with the Innocence
Project, includes the affidavit along with enormous amounts of evidence
that has disproven every aspect of the state’s case against Reed. “Mr. Reed’s execution is less than one month away, meaning Texas is frighteningly close to executing an innocent man.” “Mr.
Reed’s execution is less than one month away, meaning Texas is
frighteningly close to executing an innocent man. Between the medical
and scientific evidence, and multiple new, credible witnesses, the
original case trial has been completely deconstructed and disproven,”
said Bryce Benjet, a senior staff attorney at the Innocence Project and
Reed’s lead counsel. “It should be clear to anyone who looks at the
evidence in this case that Mr. Reed did not commit the sexual assault or
murder of Stacey Stites. To execute Mr. Reed would be a grave
miscarriage of justice that will create irreparable damage to public
confidence in the accuracy and fairness of the Texas criminal justice
system.” The application for clemency comes on the heels of Snow’s statement.
Snow, who became friendly with Fennell while incarcerated together at
the Stevenson Unit in Cuero, Texas, just recently came forward and
stated that Fennell confided in him: “Jimmy said his fiancé had been
sleeping around with a black man behind his back. By the way, Jimmy
spoke about this experience, I could tell that it deeply angered him.
Toward the end of the conversation Jimmy said confidently, ‘I had to
kill my n*****-loving fiancée.’” In addition to this witness, an amicus brief was filed this past
Monday in the United States Supreme Court by a group of Texas law
enforcement officers in support of Reed’s innocence. In the past few
weeks, a substantial amount of new information demonstrating Reed’s
innocence has come to light. Three new witnesses, who knew Fennell at
the time of Stites’ murder, have come forward with information
corroborating the existing evidence of Reed’s innocence and establishing
a violation of due process. In order to further investigate this newly
discovered evidence, the withdrawal of the impending execution date is
required under the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. ‘I had to kill my n*****-loving fiancée.’ Recently,
an affidavit (found at the end of the letter) providing sworn testimony
from former Bastrop Sheriff’s Officer Charles Wayne Fletcher, a
colleague and friend of Fennell at the time of Stites’ murder,
establishes motives of both racial animus and revenge for Fennell
against Stites. Fennell, who was an early suspect in the Stites’ rape
and murder, later pleaded guilty to kidnapping and sex charges after he
was indicted for abducting and raping a different woman who he
encountered while on-duty as a Georgetown police officer. Fletcher also describes the deteriorating relationship between
Fennell and Stites in March 1996 and recalls that Fennell made a
disturbing and bigoted statement that Stites was having an affair: “… I
remember clearly that Jimmy said that he believed Stacey was ‘f***ing a
n*****’.” It also notes Fennell’s “odd, emotionless behavior” at Stites’
funeral and burial services. “I was so disturbed by his behavior that
it caused me to question whether he was involved in Stacey’s death,”
Fletcher’s affidavit states. “I also chose to have no further
interaction or communication with him.” Fletcher’s statement follows two other affidavits implicating Fennell
in the murder: one from an insurance salesperson who stated that
Fennell threatened to kill Stites while applying for life insurance, and
the other from Jim Clampit, a deputy in the Lee County Sheriff’s Office
at the time of the murder, to whom Fennell made an alarming and
inculpatory statement at Stites’ funeral regarding Stites’ body. This
new evidence could not have been discovered or presented in any of
Reed’s prior pleadings and supports his actual innocence. None of the
aforementioned statements have been heard in court before. Previously, Stites’ cousin has affirmed that Reed and Stites were
romantically involved, while Fennell’s best friend at the time, Bastrop
Sheriff’s officer, Curtis Davis, has revealed that Fennell gave an
inconsistent account of where he was on the night of the murder. Forensic experts who implicated Reed at trial have recanted their
opinions, and leading forensic pathologists have since concluded that
the state’s theory of Reed’s guilt is medically and scientifically
impossible. Despite overwhelming evidence of Reed’s innocence, Texas
courts have consistently refused to consider the forensic evidence
proving Reed did not commit the crime and denied access to DNA testing
that can confirm Fennell’s guilt. Reed’s call for justice, commutation and exoneration have recently
been taken up by high-profile individuals, including Dr. Phil
McGraw, Kim Kardashian West and Mark Cuban. This month, Dr.
Phil featured Reed’s case on his television show. Dr. Cyril Wecht, a
forensic pathologist who has examined Stites’ autopsy report, insisted,
“without hesitation, that this is one of the clearest, unequivocal cases
of gross misjudgment – of a travesty of justice – that I’ve ever seen.” Reed is represented by Innocent Project Senior Staff Attorney Bryce
Benjet and Andrew MacRae of Levatino Pace PLLC. The Innocence Project,
founded in 1992 by Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck at Cardozo School of
Law at Yeshiva University, exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA
testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future
injustice."
The entire release can be read at:
The entire release can be read at:
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
