DNA Testing Delays Execution

BASTROP, Texas (AP) — A judge has declined to approve additional DNA testing of evidence in the case of Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed.

Judge Doug Shaver on Tuesday delayed Reed's scheduled execution from Jan. 14 to March 5. Officials await results from other DNA testing of evidence that was approved last summer.

Reed was condemned for the 1996 slaying of a Bastrop County resident, Stacey Stites. Her body was found dumped along a road. Reed's 1998 conviction hinged largely on the fact that his semen was found on the victim's body.

Attorneys for the Innocence Project have pushed for DNA testing of additional evidence.

Prosecutors say requests for expanded testing could have been submitted sooner and maintain it's just an attempt to delay Reed's execution.