POLK GOP
Resolution Supporting Clemency For Rodney Reed
Whereas, Rodney Reed, of Bastrop, Texas, has been on death row in Polk
County, Texas, since 1998 for the 1996 murder of 19-year old Stacey
Stites, and is set to be executed on November 20th; and
Whereas,
the all white jury that convicted Rodney were not privy to the mountains
of overwhelming evidence that would have exonerated him; and
Whereas, independent crime experts say the actual evidence points to
Stacey's own fiancé, Jimmy Fennell, then a Giddings police officer, as
her killer, who lived with Stites, initially was a suspect, who failed
two polygraph exams, and was recently released from prison for
kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman while on duty as a Georgetown
police officer not long after the time that Rodney was wrongly
imprisoned; and
Whereas, the only evidence linking Rodney to
Stacey was DNA evidence not inconsistent with that which would be
typical found of a consensual sexual relationship; and
Whereas,
during the trial, no individuals from Rodney's witness list were ever
called to testify, which included those prepared to testify on Rodney's
whereabouts the night of the murder, and those prepared to testify that
Rodney knew Stacey and was romantically involved with her; and
Whereas, three of the actual expert witnesses that testified during the
trial have since recanted their testimony, admitted that the time of
death would have been hours prior to that what which they originally
states during trial, thus meaning Stacey had died to the time that she
left her and Fennell's apartment to go work; and
Whereas, several
world renowned forensic pathologists have concluded that Rodney's
attorney's requests to have the murder weapon tested for DNA; and
Whereas, this body believes Rodney is innocent.
Whereas, killing Rodney without certainty his guilt will erode public
trust, not only in the death penalty, but in the entire justice system;
and
Therefore Be It Resolved, that the Polk County Republican
Party hereby requests that Governor Greg Abbott stay Rodney Reed's
execution; and
Be It Further Resolved, that this body calls on
members of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to review all of the
overwhelming evidence that exonerates Mr. Reed, and eventually grant
clemency with a pardon based on innocence; and
Be It Further
Resolved, that this body calls on Bastrop County District Attorney Bryan
Goertz to cancel the November 20 execution date, test all the evidence,
and initiate a new trial; and
Be It Further Resolved, that the
Polk County Republican Party asks citizens of Polk County and throughout
Texas to contact the above and respectfully request the same.