As Millions Demand Justice, Texas Prepares to Take Rodney Reed's Life

Looking back at a long road of injustice for the death row inmate

"...in a case tainted by racism, investigative bungling, and police intimidation. Many have long believed Reed is innocent and,..."

Nov. 15, 2019 News Feature by Brant Bingamon

Reed Appeals 'Conviction of an Innocent Man'

A federal appeal attacks the state's 'airtight" case against death-row inmate Rodney Reed.

"...May 1998 of the rape and murder of 20-year-old Giddings resident Stacey Stites. Prosecutors argued that Reed somehow overcame..."

Feb. 28, 2003 News Feature by Jordan Smith

Appeals Court Weighs Plea to 'Correct Miscarriage of Justice'

Rodney Reed's fate goes to Criminal Appeals

"...Reed was convicted of killing 19-year-old Stites, a Giddings resident, as she drove to work for an early-morning..."

March 28, 2008 News Feature by Jordan Smith

Can Rodney Reed Be Freed?

New testimony rivets court as 1996 murder case reopens

"...by her fiancé Jimmy Fennell, at the time a Giddings police officer. Nothing linked Reed to the crime except..."

July 23, 2021 News Feature by Brant Bingamon

Rodney Reed Hearing Set for October

Death row case may hinge on deposition of former sheriff's deputy

"...held her in custody as an officer in Georgetown's police department – was originally a suspect in the murder,..."

July 14, 2017 News Feature by Chase Hoffberger

Rodney Reed's Lawyers Request Withdrawal of November Execution Date

Two new witnesses have come forward with additional information

"...is attending Stites’ funeral with a colleague in the Giddings Police Department. As the two gaze down at Stites..."

Oct. 7, 2019 News Post by Brant Bingamon

Who Killed Stacey Stites?

A re-examination of a Bastrop murder case leaves many unanswered questions.

"...resident Rodney Reed of the murder of a young Giddings woman, Stacey Stites. Stites was murdered in April of..."

May 24, 2002 News Feature by Jordan Smith

Breaking the Chain

Troubling questions persist in the Rodney Reed / Stacey Stites murder case.

"...not incompetent defense. More importantly, a pattern of apparent police or prosecutorial mishandling of evidence in the case suggests..."

March 1, 2002 News Feature by Jordan Smith

Naked City

Headlines and Happenings from Austin and Beyond

"...city of Austin on the grounds that an Austin police officer's failure to act in response to the mentally..."

Jan. 27, 2006 News Feature

Day Trips

"...Administered by the U.S. Treasury Department, the artwork was paid for out of the one..."

Feb. 26, 1999 Column by Gerald E. McLeod

Reed Defense DNA-Deprived?

A citizen sleuth raises new charges in the Stacey Stites murder case.

"...that the samples could not exclude two other suspects: Giddings Police officer David Hall and Bastrop Police officer Ed..."

Nov. 30, 2001 News Feature by Jordan Smith

Naked City

News briefs from Austin, the region, and elsewhere

"...• On May 20, former Georgetown Police Sgt. Jimmy Fen­nell Jr. pleaded guilty to one count..."

May 23, 2008 News Feature

Naked City

"...convicted in 1998 of killing Stacey Stites, a 19-year-old Giddings resident. Reed has long protested his innocence, and his..."

March 21, 2008 News Feature

At Home With Capital Punishment

The fourth annual March for a Moratorium surrounds the Capitol.

"...Rodney, convicted in 1998 in the murder of a Giddings woman, Stacey Stites, on the basis of DNA evidence..."

Oct. 24, 2003 News Feature by Michael King

Naked City

News briefs from Austin, the region, and beyond

"...licensing for A/C professionals wishing to sell units, updated Department of Public Safety reporting, and more. On the heels..."

Aug. 27, 2010 News Feature

Reed Loses Another Appeal

Yet another setback for death row inmate Rodney Reed

"...unsigned), defense evidence demonstrating that Stites' fiancé, former Georgetown Police Sgt. Jimmy Fennell, now in jail for assaulting a..."

Jan. 23, 2009 News Feature by Jordan Smith

New Evidence Could Clear Death Row Inmate Rodney Reed

Jimmy Fennell's impending trial on kidnapping and rape charges unearths old suspicions that he was responsible for the 1996 murder of his fiancée

"...evidence uncovered about the conduct of victim Stacey Stites' police-officer fiancé bolster Reed's claim of innocence. In court filings,..."

July 25, 2008 News Feature by Jordan Smith

Rodney Reed's Appeals: Key Players

Ignored witnesses, “irrelevant” evidence, and more from two decades of appeals

"...he and Reed were confronted by a pair of police officers, one of whom was Fennell, out of uniform...."

Nov. 15, 2019 News Feature by Brant Bingamon

Naked City

"...Sergeant Olsen himself, that he be indefinitely suspended." – Police Chief Art Acevedo, announcing the termination of Sgt. Michael..."

Dec. 7, 2007 News Feature

Mayor Pro Tem Contest Kicks Off New Council Storylines

A leading role at City Hall?

"...with Council's push to reallocate funds from the Austin Police Department budget, and she's been the leading Council advocate..."

Jan. 22, 2021 News Feature by Austin Sanders

Oops

"...stated that Jimmy Fennell Jr. was working as a police officer in Giddings when he raped a woman he..."

July 21, 2017 Column

Death Watch: DNA Testing Denied for Rodney Reed

Reed and Pruett strike out. But justice for Duane Buck?

"...the time of her death Stites was engaged to Giddings police officer Jimmy Fennell Jr., who was considered a..."

April 21, 2017 News Feature by Sarah Marloff

Staff Changes Afoot at animal shelter

WilCo Regional Animal Shelter gets new director, kennel manager

"...Authorities with the Lockhart Police Department have confirmed that Cheryl Schneider, current Lockhart Animal..."

Aug. 17, 2007 News Feature by Patricia J. Ruland

Whether Saving Lives During the Freeze or Saving the City From Save Austin Now, Bob Nicks Just Helped

"I didn’t do a thing. I sat in my office and dispatched people. But I was part of it.”

"...Some were from his colleagues at the Austin Fire Department, where Nicks is a battalion chief and the president..."

April 8, 2022 News Feature by Brant Bingamon

Our Bodies, Our Cities

Austin and Beyond

"...years in advance; require cities to provide full fire, police and emergency services immediately after annexation, and other services..."

Jan. 29, 1999 News Column by Erica C. Barnett

Naked City

Headlines

May 23, 2003 News Feature by Mike Clark-Madison

Day Trips & Beyond: September Travel Updates

Go the social distance

"...after Port Aransas Mayor Charles Bujan said the local police could not afford to enforce the county’s order. The..."

Aug. 28, 2020 Travel Post by Gerald E. McLeod

The 85th’s State Something

Taking stock at the Lege's midway point

"...have both come under the microscope, and now the Department of Family and Pro­tect­ive Services is getting its due..."

March 17, 2017 News Feature by Richard Whittaker

The Big Legebowski

The session will be remembered largely as an opportunity lost to partisan displays

"...Other Ellis proposals, including a bill that would require police to record all interrogations and one that would ensure..."

June 12, 2009 News Feature by Lee Nichols

Naked City

Clean Campaigns heat wave, Alcoa's new problems, No Pipeline solutions at AAS, Personnel puzzles at AISD, City resignations, Mueller redevelopment candidates, Hyde Park meets again & Ed Herman's letter to the Times

"...I don't care about the rules. They called the police and threatened to arrest me. So I left, but..."

Aug. 3, 2001 News Feature by Mike Clark-Madison