Over the past six months, celebrities like Kim Kardashian, Oprah Winfrey, Beyoncé, Dr. Phil, and Rihanna rallied behind death row inmate and convicted rapist and murderer Rodney Reed, claiming the 52-year-old black man was wrongly convicted, at least in part due to racial bias.
Despite the onslaught of celebrity advocacy, last week, the Supreme Court rejected an appeal from the death row inmate.
Reed was convicted of the 1996 rape and murder of 19-year-old Stacy Stites due in large part to DNA evidence. When Reed was convicted, it was determined Stites was strangled to death by her own belt while on her way to work at a HEB grocery store in Bastrop, Texas, in April 1996. Evidence determined that Stites was both vaginally and anally raped while being strangled to death. DNA from semen found in the teen’s vagina and anus matched that of Reed’s.
However, Reed has claimed that he did not murder Stites, but was having a secret consensual sexual affair with the teen. When her fiancé Jimmy Fennell, a white police officer, found out, he killed Stites, Reed’s defense attorneys theorized.
Celebrities were quick to advocate for Reed despite the overwhelming evidence against the convict.
Related: Celebrities Push To Save Death Row Inmate Rodney Reed. But What Does The Evidence Say?
Singer Rihanna, for example, posted a petition asking for the public to reject the “government killing an innocent man.”
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
“Today, I had the honor of meeting #RodneyReed in person and the privilege of sitting with him when he got the news that the highest court in Texas had issued a stay of execution and remanded the case back to the trial court for further consideration,” Kardashian posted via Instagram on November 15.
Reed was set for execution on November 20, but the order was temporarily stayed.
“Words cannot describe the relief and hope that swept over the room in that moment. That hope had been building over the last few weeks around Rodney’s case,” Kardashian continued. “We have seen Democrats and Republicans come together. We have seen grassroots activists and lawmakers link arms. We have heard people all around the globe speak up. And all because of a deep belief that every man or woman accused of a crime – especially one punishable by death – deserves the chance to have all available evidence considered.”
“So grateful for the commitment and passion of everyone who voiced their support, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles for their recommendation to issue a 120 day reprieve, and the courts for issuing a stay!” she closed the post.
While the appeal was denied, left-wing Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor said in a separate writing that “Reed has ‘presented a substantial body of evidence’ that she said ‘if true’ casts doubt on the ‘veracity of scientific validity of the evidence,'” CNN reported.
Justice Sotomayor noted the Supreme Court rejecting the appeal should not “close the door” on future review of the case, citing lower courts.
“I remain hopeful that available state processes will take care to ensure full and fair consideration of Reed’s innocence,” said the justice.