On March 19, 2025, Rodney Reed, an inmate on death row in Texas, was executed after the US Supreme Court rejected a last-minute appeal to halt the process. Reed maintained his innocence for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites, arguing that new evidence implicated her fiancé, a police officer, in the crime.
The case garnered national attention due to questions surrounding the evidence used to convict Reed, with supporters claiming forensic evidence and witness testimonies pointed to a different perpetrator. Despite these claims, the Texas courts repeatedly denied Reed’s appeals for a new trial.
The final hours leading up to the execution were marked by intense legal maneuvering. A federal appeals court reversed a lower court’s preliminary injunction that had temporarily blocked the execution. Ultimately, the Supreme Court, in a sharply divided 5-4 decision, refused to intervene, clearing the way for Texas to proceed with Reed’s execution.
find the original article here: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2025/03/19/rfjm-m19.html