The Supreme Court just slammed the door on DNA testing that could prove a Texas death row inmate innocent—or seal his guilt forever.
Story Snapshot
- U.S. Supreme Court rejects Rodney Reed’s appeal on March 23, 2026, denying DNA tests on the belt used to strangle Stacey Stites in 1996.
- Reed, a Black inmate, claims testing implicates Stites’ white ex-cop fiancé Jimmy Fennell; prosecutors cite chain-of-custody issues.
- Three liberal justices dissent sharply, warning the state may execute Reed without knowing whose DNA grips the murder weapon.
- Case highlights Texas death penalty battles, racial tensions, and barriers to post-conviction evidence in capital cases.
Crime That Shook Rural Texas
On April 23, 1996, 19-year-old Stacey Stites vanished en route to her Bastrop supermarket job, 30 miles southeast of Austin. Searchers found her body strangled by her own belt in a creek bed. Prosecutors charged Rodney Reed, a Black local, with rape and murder. Jurors convicted him in 1998 and sentenced him to death. Reed insists he shared a secret consensual affair with Stites. He accuses her fiancé, Jimmy Fennell, a white ex-police officer, of the killing in jealous rage. Fennell denies it.
Decades of Legal Battles Unfold
Reed sought post-conviction DNA testing in 2014 under Texas law. Trial courts denied it over chain-of-custody and contamination fears. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed in 2017. In 2019, Texas scheduled Reed’s execution, but the appeals court stayed it for innocence review claims including false testimony and Brady violations. Reed filed a federal lawsuit challenging Texas’s DNA statute as unconstitutional. The Fifth Circuit deemed it untimely until the Supreme Court intervened.
Supreme Court Steps In Twice
In April 2023, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Reed v. Goertz that his suit was timely, remanding to the Fifth Circuit. Justice Kavanaugh wrote the majority opinion, joined by conservatives and liberals. Justices Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissented, arguing federal overreach into state matters. The Fifth Circuit then reviewed merits and denied testing. On March 23, 2026, the Supreme Court rejected Reed’s second appeal, upholding the denial without comment from the majority.
Three liberal justices—Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson—dissented. Sotomayor blasted the refusal as inexplicable. She noted a very substantial possibility testing exculpates Reed and highlighted Texas’s routine use of contested evidence in prosecutions. Reed’s team, backed by the Innocence Project, argues the belt was gripped tightly, preserving skin or sweat DNA.
Stakeholders Clash Over Evidence
Texas prosecutors from Bastrop County oppose testing to protect finality and victim justice. They control the evidence and won state court backing. Fennell, released in 2018 after serving time for sexual assault of a Black woman, maintains innocence. The Innocence Project and pro bono firm Skadden Arps drive Reed’s fight, offering to fund modern testing. Celebrities like Beyoncé, Kim Kardashian, and Oprah amplified his cause, spotlighting racial dynamics in the interracial claims.
Supreme Court rejects appeal from Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed in 1996 rape, killing of 19-year-old. https://t.co/BQTsCwPQ0u
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 23, 2026
Power tilts toward state institutions. Federal courts deferred on merits despite procedural wins. Common sense demands testing if DNA endures—chain-of-custody concerns ring hollow when Texas prosecutes on shakier grounds. Conservative values favor truth over expediency; executing without proof risks irreversible injustice, aligning facts against liberal overreach but for evidence-driven finality.
Lasting Ripples in Justice System
This ruling blocks Reed’s testing, paving his execution path while reinforcing Texas DNA barriers. Short-term, Stites’ and Fennell’s families face tainted closure. Bastrop’s Black community sees racial bias echoes. Long-term, it limits federal intervention in state evidence rules, contrasting the 2025 Gutierrez win. Innocence efforts stall in the Fifth Circuit amid death penalty debates.
Sources:
Supreme Court rejects appeal from Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed.
The U.S. Supreme Court rules 6-3 in favor of Rodney Reed.
Supreme Court agrees to hear case of Texas death-row prisoner Rodney Reed.
US Supreme Court lets Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed pursue DNA testing.
Court revives DNA evidence case of Texas man on death row.
Reed v. Goertz, 598 U.S. ___ (2023).
Texas death row inmate Ruben Gutierrez wins Supreme Court ruling.
Justices wrestle with statute of limitations in Rodney Reed’s effort.
10 Facts You Need to Know About Rodney Reed.
