Today's Austin American-Statesman reports, "Rodney Reed’s execution set for Jan. 14, but more DNA tests to be done," by Wesley Gardner.
Death row inmate Rodney Reed, who was convicted of capital murder in the 1996 rape and slaying of 19-year-old Stacey Stites, received a Jan. 14 date of execution Monday morning from visiting Judge Doug Shaver.
Following a 30-minute delay, Reed, 46, was escorted into a Bastrop County courtroom around 11:30 a.m., wearing red-and-white striped prison garb. Friends and family members watched from across the aisle, sporting white T-shirts with bold, black letters saying “Free Rodney Reed.”
Defense attorneys and prosecutors agreed prior to the hearing that several pieces of evidence from the crime scene would be sent to the Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory Service in Garland for additional DNA testing, according to an order signed by Bastrop County District Attorney Bryan Goertz and defense attorney Bryce Benjet.
The crime lab will have ample time to analyze the evidence before the January date for the execution, Shaver said.
Earlier coverage of Rodney Reed's case begins at the link.
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