A few dozen people showed up to the governor's mansion Saturday carrying giant heart posters and signs for Greg Abbott—but it's not what you think. Our Alex Stockwell explains why supporters want Abbott to show some love for Rodney Reed—a man on death row who maintains his innocence to this day.
Supporters of Rodney Reed aren't wasting any time, and they're taking an uncommon approach to get Gov. Greg Abbott's attention.
They made giant valentines for the governor, urging him to "have a heart" and stop Reed's execution, which is scheduled to happen in less than three weeks.
"The deck is stacked against us definitely, but I think that as our hearts and our Valentines show, we think that Abbott can be a compassionate governor," says advocate Kelly Blocker.
Reed is on death row for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites.
Last week, his attorneys filed an appeal to have additional DNA evidence tested, evidence they believe will prove Reed's innocence.
Those calling for justice for Reed agree.
"Every time new facts come out about this case—every single time—they support our argument that justice was not served in the initial trial; that we need to DNA test the evidence," says advocate Collin Poirot.
For others, not taking advantage of new technology to test the evidence doesn't make sense.
"I don't understand how you can definitely execute someone, end a life, and not have all the details out there. Test the belt. Test the other evidence that is available," says advocate Uwana Akpan.
Along the streamer of valentines standing outside the governor's mansion are flags from different countries representing all of the nations that reached out to the Justice for Rodney Reed organization in the hopes that Abbott will take their message to heart.
"The time is now, our timeline is very short, but I think we can really make some excellent things happen between now and the proposed execution date," Blocker says.
"All we can do is kind of hope and keep doing what we're doing and keep trying," Poirot says.