AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected Rodney Reed's appeal that argued evidence used to convict him in the murder of Stacey Stites was false.

In the appeal, Reed claims that the state presented "misleading and scientifically invalid expert testimony" and did not disclose new evidence, which "violated his right to due process."

This is one of many appeals Reed has made over the more than 20 years that he has been in prison.

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Reed was convicted of killing and sexual assaulting Stites and disposing of her body on a rural road in Bastrop County in 1998. He has long claimed his innocence in her murder, saying the two had a relationship and that her fiancé, Jimmy Fennell, was a likely suspect.

Reed's appeal called into question Fennell's whereabouts on the night of the murder. The court ruling referenced a previous hearing in which the victim's mother's testimony contradicted Reed's claims of inconsistency in Fennell's story.​

"The Court of Criminal Appeals’ denial of Mr. Reed’s case simply cannot be squared with the compelling and uncontradicted evidence of his innocence.  Although we are still reviewing the opinion, this is by no means the end of the case. The decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals is subject to review by the United States Supreme Court.  Mr. Reed’s constitutional claims can also be presented to the federal courts by way of a motion to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit,” said Innocence Project Senior Attorney Bryce Benjet.

Reed's lawyers will also file a federal civil rights lawsuit to get key evidence from the crime scene tested for DNA.

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