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Above the law

Tales from death row: Justice for Rodney Reed


By: Caitlin Adams

I have a bit more to say about Lisa Tanner's comments that were aired as part of Adam Racusin's KEYE Austin story on 4/25/13 (I bet none of you are surprised!). The Attorney General's office refused an interview for the recent program, so her interview was from 2001. 

In addressing a question concerning the two beer cans found near Ms. Stites's body, this is Ms. Tanner's response:


It's a small world

Tales from death row: Justice for Rodney Reed


By: Caitlin Adams

This is going to be a more personal piece; I hope you all won't mind. As my physical world shrinks with the inexorable progression of Lou (ALS), I am astounded at how my emotional/relational world just keeps getting bigger!  And how the big blue ball world gets smaller.

One day recently I found this message in my inbox on Facebook:

Hello Caitlin, my name is Karine, I'm a French woman living in Israel. I'm sending you this message cause I've been DEEPLY touched by your blog about Rodney Reed that I found by chance. Since I remember myself I'm deeply against death penalty but only a year ago I discovered the inhuman conditions on death row in Texas. Since this discover I also correspond with a man who is actually on death row in Polunsky.
When I see a woman like you, I'm full of admiration and I want toTHANK YOU for this great lesson of humanity!


What exactly does a "Right to Counsel" mean?

Tales from death row: Justice for Rodney Reed


By: Caitlin Adams

March 18th marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark, unanimous Supreme Court decision in Gideon v Wainwright, in which the court held that the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution guarantees a person charged with a serious crime the right to have legal representation.  This decision should have changed the entire landscape, should have leveled the playing field in jurisprudence. Sadly, that is not the case.


A story, but who's telling it?

Tales from death row: Justice for Rodney Reed


By: Caitlin Adams

In the recent KEYE Austin news story by reporter Adam Racusin, I was really impacted by the statements made by Lisa Tanner, the prosecutor in Rodney's case, in an interview given in 2001.  So much so, that they just kept replaying and replaying in my mind.  Here's the first part of her comments:


Guilty until proven innocent

Tales from death row: Justice for Rodney Reed


By: Caitlin Adams

With the most recent denial of relief in Rodney's case and the case moving into the 5th Circuit's purview, I find myself wondering again, how can innocence not matter?


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