[Deathpenalty] death penalty news-----TEXAS, FLA.

[Rick Halperin]

Sept. 22




TEXAS:

Rodney Reed's family holds rally, asks for re-trial----Texas convicted prisoner 
Rodney Reed's execution date is two months away, but his family continues to 
protest, hoping to stop the execution scheduled for November.



Rodney Reed's family held a rally in Bastrop on Saturday afternoon with 
supporters, protesting his execution set for Nov. 20.

"It's about truth and justice, not just for Rodney, but for all," said Roderick 
Reed, Rodney Reed's brother.

Reed was found guilty of the rape and murder of Stacey Stites in 1996, after 
DNA tests linked him to her death. Supporters of Reed claim Stites' killer was 
actually her fiance at the time; they believe Reed is innocent.

"It's been hard," said Roderick Reed. "It's been really hard. It's been trying, 
but at the end of the day we put our faith in God. We trust in God. Sometimes 
bad things have to happen to bring in the greater good."

Reed's family said they won't stop until Reed is out free. It's been decades of 
supporting him, with a lot of controversy surrounding the case, but they're 
sure it'll be worth it.

"I just thought it was crazy that Texas was trying to execute someone who had a 
strong claim of innocence, and there wasn't DNA testing and they weren't 
willing to exhaust that option before," said Wana Akpan, Reed's sister-in-law.

(source: KVUE news)








FLORIDA:

One last court appearance for suspects charged with FSU professor's murder 
before trial



A man and woman charged in the murder for hire of an FSU professor appeared in 
a Tallahassee court Friday for the last time in jail blues.

On Monday, Katherine Magbanua and Sigfredo Garcia faced jurors in their street 
clothes.

The state is seeking the Death Penalty against the alleged triggerman, Garcia.

Professor Dan Markel and Wendi Adelson divorced a year before the murder.

Prosecutors consider her family un-indicted co-conspirators and believe they 
paid Garcia through Magbanua for the hit.

On Friday, lawyers squared off over whether pages of divorce filings could be 
admitted. Prosecutor Georgia Cappleman calling them 500 pages of “bad blood”.

“He said there may be some limited exceptions to that if they make a more 
specific objection, but in general they can come in. Not for particular truth 
of each pleading, but in general to prove the motive for the crime,” said 
Cappleman.

The trial, which begins Monday, could last as long as 3 weeks.

It is a case that is being covered by several major news magazines including 
20/20 and Dateline NBC.

(source: WJHG TV news)