Odell Barnes Jr.

L'association Lutte Pour la Justice (LPJ) a été créée en 1999 pour soutenir Odell Barnes Jr., jeune afro-américain condamné à mort en 1991 à Huntsville (Texas) pour un crime qu'il n'avait pas commis et exécuté le 1er mars 2000 à l'aube de ses 32 ans. En sa mémoire et à sa demande, l'association se consacre à la lutte pour l'abolition de la peine de mort aux Etats-Unis et en particulier au Texas. (voir article "Livre "La machine à tuer" de Colette Berthès en libre accès" ) : https://www.lagbd.org/images/5/50/MATlivre.pdf

jeudi 7 novembre 2019

Rodney Reed is Innocent - Free Him Now! (petition)

https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/rodney-reed-is-innocent-free-him-now?fbclid=IwAR2eo6PSY-6_t9Sf3fxX-mw11fsbJZywCk1bqD4n7AjmjRukNQVjCeG3lcQ


UPDATED Nov 7, 2019: Petition delivery date set - Nov 19 at Bastrop County DA's Office.
Read the Innocence Project's letter to Texas Governor Abbott, here.
The State’s entire case against Rodney Reed has been demolished. The timeline is wrong, all the expert witnesses recanted their testimony, and some of the most respected forensic pathologists in the world concur that the prosecution’s theory is impossible. The State’s case doesn’t make sense because Rodney is innocent.
Police initially suspected that Jimmy Fennell, fiancé of Stacey Stites (the victim), was the killer. Fennell failed two polygraph tests when he was asked if he strangled Stites, but police cleared him anyway. Why? It might have had something to do with the fact that Fennell was a fellow police officer. Years later, Fennell was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping a woman he had detained while on-duty as a police sergeant.

This case has undeniable racial undertones. Rodney Reed, a black man, was accused of raping and killing a young white woman who was engaged to a white police officer in a small Texas town. The jury was all white. No, this isn’t To Kill a Mockingbird; this is real life and an innocent man’s life is on the line.

What’s truly shocking is that there is DNA evidence that has never been tested. Rodney Reed’s lawyers have been working for years to get this testing that could prove his innocence. Bastrop County DA Bryan Goertz and lawyers from the Texas Attorney General’s office have blocked all efforts to test the evidence. What do they have to hide? It’s time to put up or shut up: test the DNA now!

A few things need to happen quickly for Rodney: (1) Cancel the November 20 execution date; (2) Test ALL the evidence; (3) A new, fair trial free of racial bias and false forensics. Rodney should have an opportunity to fully prove his innocence in a courtroom.

Bastrop County DA Bryan Goertz has the power to stop the November 20th execution and allow a new trial. While DA Goertz says that only the courts can do these things, that’s not true. Goertz has actively opposed Rodney’s efforts to prove his innocence for years. All Goertz needs to do is not oppose these legal efforts to get at the truth. If police and prosecutors really have nothing to hide, then it’s time to get out of the way.

To: Bastrop County (TX) DA Bryan Goertz
From: [Your Name]
Bastrop County DA Bryan Goertz - YOU have the power to stop the November 20th execution of Rodney Reed and allow a new trial. Your assertion that only the courts can do these things is not true. You have actively opposed Reed’s efforts to prove his innocence for years. Please stop opposing Reed's legal efforts to get at the truth. If you really have nothing to hide, then it’s time to get out of the way. We DEMAND:
(1) Cancel the November 20 execution date;
(2) Test ALL the evidence;
(3) Initiate a new, fair trial free of racial bias and false forensics.
Rodney Reed should have an opportunity to fully prove his innocence in a courtroom. You have the power to make that happen. Please use it now.


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