- 12 Oct 2022 00:31
#15250586
A woman was found strangled to death with her own belt, her body left on the side of a road. Detectives found signs on the body that suggested rape, and a man's sperm was found in her, which was matched to a suspect through DNA testing.
They arrested a suspect. The suspect was black, the victim was white.
The black man claimed that he had been having an affair with the woman. The defense suggested that the woman's fiance, who was a white police officer, may have been the one who killed her. (perhaps he had found out about the affair and killed her in a fit of rage)
The suspect is in prison on death row awaiting execution in Texas. The defense wants the authorities to test other crime scene evidence for DNA, to see if there is evidence that another person may have been present at the scene. Especially the belt that was used to strangle the victim, since it could be possible skin cells may have been left behind.
The case is being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court.
What do you think? Would it just be a waste of valuable money to subject all the evidence to additional DNA testing? Suppose they find someone else's DNA at the scene. Would it really prove anything?
The black suspect's name is Rodney Reed, and the victim was Stacey Stites, aged 19 at the time.
U.S. Supreme Court mulls Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed's DNA testing bid, Andrew Chung, Reuters, October 11, 2022
This sounds like a difficult case. I usually immediately form a pretty strong opinion about these type of stories, but this one I'm not sure what to think.
It's not completely impossible she could be having an affair with him. I have personally known of very attractive young white women who had a casual sexual affair with a black man who was much bigger and less attractive than them, simply because they wanted the big black (*)(*)(*)(*). And her fiance could have been abusive towards her, that is not that uncommon with police officers. Maybe even the abuse is part of what drove her to have an affair with a black man.
On the other hand, if he did rape her and is responsible for her death, he definitely deserves the death penalty. That type of situation suggests a strong likelihood that it was he who raped her, rather than any alternative explanation.
They arrested a suspect. The suspect was black, the victim was white.
The black man claimed that he had been having an affair with the woman. The defense suggested that the woman's fiance, who was a white police officer, may have been the one who killed her. (perhaps he had found out about the affair and killed her in a fit of rage)
The suspect is in prison on death row awaiting execution in Texas. The defense wants the authorities to test other crime scene evidence for DNA, to see if there is evidence that another person may have been present at the scene. Especially the belt that was used to strangle the victim, since it could be possible skin cells may have been left behind.
The case is being considered by the U.S. Supreme Court.
What do you think? Would it just be a waste of valuable money to subject all the evidence to additional DNA testing? Suppose they find someone else's DNA at the scene. Would it really prove anything?
The black suspect's name is Rodney Reed, and the victim was Stacey Stites, aged 19 at the time.
U.S. Supreme Court mulls Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed's DNA testing bid, Andrew Chung, Reuters, October 11, 2022
This sounds like a difficult case. I usually immediately form a pretty strong opinion about these type of stories, but this one I'm not sure what to think.
It's not completely impossible she could be having an affair with him. I have personally known of very attractive young white women who had a casual sexual affair with a black man who was much bigger and less attractive than them, simply because they wanted the big black (*)(*)(*)(*). And her fiance could have been abusive towards her, that is not that uncommon with police officers. Maybe even the abuse is part of what drove her to have an affair with a black man.
On the other hand, if he did rape her and is responsible for her death, he definitely deserves the death penalty. That type of situation suggests a strong likelihood that it was he who raped her, rather than any alternative explanation.