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A week from execution, Rodney Reed’s supporters gather in Bastrop
On Tuesday, a hearing that Rodney Reed's attorneys would use to try to void his execution was postponed, but it didn't stop a rally outside the Bastrop County District Attorney’s office Wednesday.
BASTROP, Texas - With just a week left until death row inmate Rodney Reed's execution date, for his family and supporters, time is precious.
“My brother is down there on death row as we speak, innocent of the crime of which he has been charged,” said his brother Rodrick Reed.
Rodney Reed has sat on death row for more than 22 years for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites. On Tuesday, a hearing that Reed's attorneys would use to try to void his execution was postponed, but it didn't stop a rally outside the Bastrop County District Attorney’s office Wednesday.
"They are scrambling trying to block all avenues so that we can prove Rodney's innocence. So we can do what we need to do as a community to stand behind justice," said Rodrick Reed.
Supporters said D.A. Bryan Goertz should have done more to intervene.
"Your legacy will crumble behind the Rodney Reed case. We will see to it," said Rodrick Reed.
Rodney Reed has maintained his innocence the entire time he's been imprisoned. Governor Greg Abbott has the power to proceed with or halt the Nov 20 execution date.
Millions of people including celebrities have signed a petition to save Reed's life. Supporters are asking the state to give him a new trial and give a jury a chance to review new evidence.
“You have forensic scientists, world-renowned forensic scientists saying that it is a scientific impossibility for Rodney Reed to have committed this murder. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand there is something terribly flawed with what we are dealing with here today," said Robert Muhammad, supporter and leader of Austin Nation of Islam.
"An innocent man on death row, it doesn't make sense. He deserves a new trial," said supporter Sumai Lokumbe.