Rodney Reed Supporters Stage All-Night Vigil In Austin
AUSTIN, TX — More than 50 advocates seeking clemency for Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed gathered during the early parts of an all-night vigil outside the Texas Governor’s Mansion in Austin Thursday night, calling for a halt to the man’s scheduled execution next week.
Supporters of Reed believe his claim of innocence in the murder of Stacy Stites, 19, whose body was found along a roadway in Bastrop, Texas, in 1996. Reed was arrested for the crime after his DNA was found inside the woman’s body, but he contends that was the result of consensual sex with the woman before she was killed.
The case has given rise to ugly racial overtones in that Reed is black while the victim was white. That subplot to this real life-and-death narrative was not lost on those attending the vigil, responding to chants related to the way justice often is meted out to people of color invariably lacking the resources for a blue-chip defense attorney.
Literature strewn about the pavement fronting the governor’s mansion called for Rodney Reed to be spared the death penalty. Photo by Tony Cantú/Patch staff.
One sharing that perception was an organizer who identified herself only as “Bird” representing Reed Justice Initiative and the Campaign To End The Death Penalty. Befitting her name, she led the crowd to spirited protest chants and protest songs as the vigil unfolded in the early part of the evening — sometimes turning her back on her fellow protesters in shouting toward the governor’s mansion directly, even not knowing if the top lawmaker was there that night.
Video by Tony Cantú/Patch staff.
“This is not a time to be apathetic or complacent,” she said. “We need to save a man’s life, and it’s going to take all of us mobilizing every single day to do that. We have to force them to do the right thing, and to keep public pressure mounting, and let them know we’re not going anywhere, and we aren’t to back down.”
Video by Tony Cantú/Patch staff.
She’s among those refusing to back down, telling Patch she planned to be at the vigil outside the gates of the governor’s mansion at 1010 Colorado St. until 5 a.m. the following morning. Bird agreed justice often is meted out inequitably, with defendants of color invariably at a disadvantage as it relates to legal outcome.
Video by Tony Cantú/Patch staff.
“We have held vigils for white folks on death row,” she began. “But, yes, usually it’s people of color and they have one thing in common which is they’re poor. There’s no rich people on death row.”
Sustenance in the form of oranges, pizza, kolaches and protein bars along water and coffee were made available to those attending the vigil — some of the food donated from area merchants. Photo by Tony Cantú/Patch staff.
Reed is now scheduled to be put to death by Nov. 20, and only Gen. Greg Abbott can stop the execution from taking place. As doubt about Reed’s guilt has grown, so too has the chorus of supporters calling for his life to be spared — including high-profile allies such as Oprah Winfrey, “Dr. Phil” McGraw and reality star Kim Kardashian West along millions who have signed petitions calling for a reprieve.
Related story: Texas Death Row Inmate Gains Support As Execution Looms
Photo of Rodney Reed via the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
The 12-hour vigil began at 7 p.m. — on a drizzly Thursday night in Austin with a low temperature expected to dip to 37 degrees, according to forecasters — before its scheduled conclusion at 7 a.m. on Friday. Organizers of the vigil wrote on a Facebook event page the gathering was is in solidarity with a separate all-night vigil being hosted by Reed’s family outside the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.
With the Texas Capitol as backdrop, just over 50 protesters staged a vigil outside the governor’s mansion in Austin calling for Rodney Reed’s life to be spared. Photo by Tony Cantú/Patch staff.
Local supporters of Reed were expected to remain at the Texas Governor’s Mansion 1010 Colorado St., in downtown Austin until 7 a.m. in an event organized by We Demand Justice: Free Rodney Reed and Reed Justice Initiative.
Someone placed a battery-operated votive candle like the ones held by attendees of a vigil carried outside the governor’s mansion, yielding something of a tiny beacon before the path leading to the grand house. Photo by Tony Cantú/Patch staff.
The day of reckoning is now less than one week away, when Abbott alone will decide whether or not Reed will live or die. And as the clock ticks away inexorably to Wednesday, Nov. 20, the eyes of the nation — and many parts of the world at large — are on Texas.
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