Update at 5:00pm:
Texas highest criminal appeals court has stopped the execution of inmate Rodney Reed, whose conviction is being questioned by new evidence in his case.
The stay of execution issued Friday afternoon by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals comes just hours after the state’s parole board unanimously recommended a 120-day reprieve for Reed.
The appeals court returned the case to the trial court in Bastrop County so it could examine Reed’s claims that he is innocent and that prosecutors suppressed evidence and presented false testimony.
The 51-year-old Reed has been set for lethal injection Wednesday evening for the 1996 killing of 19-year-old Stacey Stites near Bastrop in Central Texas.
Reed’s efforts to stop his execution have garnered support from lawmakers and celebrities. Reed has long maintained he is innocent.
Original story:
HOUSTON (AP) – The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles is recommending delaying the execution of inmate Rodney Reed, whose conviction is being questioned by new evidence in his case.
The parole board on Friday unanimously recommended a 120-day reprieve for Reed.
The board’s decision now goes to Gov. Greg Abbott.
Since taking office in 2015, Abbott has halted only one imminent execution.
The 51-year-old Reed is set for lethal injection Wednesday evening for the 1996 killing of 19-year-old Stacey Stites near Bastrop in Central Texas.
Reed’s efforts to stop his execution have garnered support from lawmakers and celebrities.
Since Texas resumed executions in 1982, only three death row inmates have had their sentences commuted to life in prison within days of their scheduled executions.
