Rodrick Reed leads protestors at rally against the execution of brother Rodney Reed on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019, in Bastrop, Texas. 
Rodney Reed was convicted of raping and killing 19-year-old Stacey Stites in April 1996. Reed is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Nov. 20. 
Protesters rallied outside the Bastrop County district attorney’s office after appeals court decided it would not rehear Reed’s motion on judge’s appointment. 
Rodney Reed has claimed innocence since becoming a suspect and being sent to death row in 1998 by an all-white jury. 
Reed was convicted on the bases that his DNA was found on Stites. Reed’s attorneys presented evidence confirming Reed’s claim that he was in a consensual relationship with Stites. 
Protestors demand that the belt used to strangle Stites be tested for DNA. 
New evidence and new witnesses could challenge Reed’s conviction and give him the possibility of a new trial. 
Celebrities and religious leaders have called attention to Reed’s case, amassing public support. 
Democratic and Republican legislators have publicly called for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to delay the execution. 
Sandra Reed, mother of Rodney Reed, joins demonstrators in protest. 
(Update) The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Friday, Nov. 15 recommended a 120-day delay in the execution of Rodney Reed and passed the decision to Gov. Greg Abbott.
Update 12/11/19 – On Dec. 11 the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals handed down its latest decision in the Rodney Reed case:
“This is to advise that the applicant’s suggestion for reconsideration has been denied without written order.”
Reed had been waiting for a response since his legal team filed a motion for the regional presiding judge to assign a new judge to the case.