(Washington) The Supreme Court of the United States examines on Tuesday the appeal of a death row inmate who claims his innocence and who had escaped his execution in extremis in 2019 thanks to the support of stars, elected officials and millions of Americans .
Posted at 10:15 p.m.
The high court will not examine the merits of Rodney Reed’s case, but a very technical question, relating to delays in the criminal procedure.
His decision, expected by June, will however have a direct impact on the future of the convict, by authorizing his file to be reopened or, on the contrary, to be executed.
This 54-year-old African-American was sentenced to death in Texas in 1998 by an all-white jury for the rape and murder of Stacey Stites, a 19-year-old white woman.
Traces of his semen were found on the victim and during the trial prosecutors assured that he had a history of sexual violence. He always denied and explained that he had a secret affair with the victim.
His defenders believe that elements collected after the trial accredit his version of the facts and point to an alternative suspect: the fiancé of the victim, Jimmy Fennell, a former police officer who has since served ten years in prison for a rape.
According to them, a former co-detainee of the police officer revealed in particular that Jimmy Fennell had confessed to him having killed his fiancée because she “slept behind his back with a p***** of n****”.
A time suspected of the crime, Jimmy Fennell has always denied having played a role in the death of his companion.
sweat and skin
To prove his innocence, Rodney Reed asked the State of Texas in 2014 for new DNA analyzes, in particular on the belt used to strangle the young woman.
“The hands of the killer could have left sweat or skin cells” on this object, note his lawyers in an argument addressed to the Supreme Court.
After having suffered several failures in state courts, he turned to federal justice in 2019, accusing Texas of “denial of rights”.
She had refused to intervene on the grounds that her request had come too late, the law providing for a two-year window to challenge the decision of a state court in federal court.
The question is to know from when this period begins. Texas argues that it is from the first decision, Rodney Reed from the last.
For The Appeal, an activist information site, this case illustrates perfectly “the convolutions of the penal system in the United States” which, according to him, gives more weight to the interpretation of a law than to the elements of the case. .
In 2019, when the State of Texas had set a date for his execution, Rodney Reed had benefited from a large mobilization. Reality TV star Kim Kardashian, singers Rihanna or Beyoncé and several elected officials from both parties, including Republican Senator Ted Cruz, had asked for his file to be reopened.
Two internet petitions had also collected more than 3.5 million signatures. He had finally obtained a respite five days before the deadline.
This time, the mobilization is less visible, but its supporters have planned to demonstrate in front of the temple of law, in Washington, on the sidelines of the hearing.