Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied convicted murderer Rodney Reed's request for a new trial, saying he failed to prove that prosecutors suppressed evidence in his case. (Click to read the court orders and opinions.)
Attorneys for the condemned murderer previously asked the state's highest court for a new trial arguing the state failed their client more than a decade ago when it did not take a closer look at police officers tied to the case.
Reed was convicted of the murder of Stacey Stites whose partially clothed body was discovered on the side of a desolate road in Bastrop County in April 1996.
Reed's lawyers argued that the state withheld evidence in the original trial, even physical evidence, specifically tests done on a beer can found at the crime scene with DNA on it belonging to a police officer. That officer was also a friend and colleague of Stacey Stites' fiancé, Jimmy Fennell Jr.
Sandra Reed, Rodney's mother, will have to swallow her hope once again after the latest appeal for a new trial by attorneys for Rodney Reed was rejected.
"The court's decision said they weren't convinced that they needed a new trial," she said. "I'm just so disappointed in this justice system."
Rodney Reed's attorney Bryce Benjet said the initial case was flawed.
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Reed's appeal denied
News 8 Austin's Catie Beck
talks to Reed's family about the
latest in the case.
 
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"The entire legitimacy of the conviction is based on how much you trust these police officers … that's an issue that needs to be heard by the jury," he said.
Specifically, Benjet is referring to the former Georgetown police officer Jimmy Fennell Jr. who was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison after being charged with sexually assaulting a woman in police custody.
Reed's appeal process will continue. His attorney's say the Court of Criminal Appeals has more to decide and that he also has a pending appeal in federal court.
