Reed was sentenced to death more than 20 years ago for assaulting, raping and strangling 19-year-old Stacey Lee Steights.
In this case, he sought to challenge the constitutionality of a state DNA law after a conviction so that a seat belt could be tested. The lower courts said his request was rejected because he waited too long to file the lawsuit.
“The main question is technically about when the clock starts running for federal cases of inmates seeking DNA testing for newly discovered evidence that could exonerate them,” said Steve Vladek, a CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor at the University of Texas School. . law. “But the consequences can be much broader, especially for prisoners in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, where current law makes it extremely difficult to file such lawsuits.”
Reed’s case brought together lawmakers, religious leaders and celebrities such as Kim Kardashian West and Rihanna in his defense.
Texas law allows a convicted person to receive DNA testing of biological material after a conviction if the court finds that certain conditions are met. Reed was refused. He came to the Supreme Court in 2018 and was again refused. He is now challenging the constitutionality of the law in Texas.
But a federal appeals court ruled that he had waited too long to file a lawsuit: “Injury occurs when the plaintiff first learns or should have learned that his right has been violated.” The court noted that he found out about this in 2014 and that his current claim was “statute-barred”. Earlier, the Supreme Court refused to hear a Reid appeal in 2020. Judge Sonia Sotomayor said in a statement that he had “presented a substantial body of evidence” which she said “if true” calls into question “the validity of scientific validity”. of the evidence. “
Devan Cole of CNN contributed to this report.
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