The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from longtime Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed who has sought to test crime-scene evidence that he says will help clear him.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal from Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed, who claims untested crime-scene evidence will help clear him.

Rodrick Reed leads a chant during a protest against the execution of Rodney Reed on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019, in Bastrop, Texas. (Nick Wagner/Austin American-Statesman via AP)The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Friday recommended delaying the execution of inmate Rodney Reed, whose conviction is being questioned by new evidence that his supporters say raises serious doubts about his guilt. His supporters have held various rallies leading up to his execution, including an overnight vigil on Thursday in front of the Supreme Court in Washington. Reed says Fennell was angry because Stites, who was white, was having an affair with Reed, who is black. Reed's lawyers say other recent affidavits corroborate the relationship between Stites and Reed and show that Fennell was violent and aggressive toward Stites.

"They said the governor has heard about it and is taking a very deliberative and thoughtful analysis," Republican state Rep. Matt Krause said. Texas remains the death penalty capital of the U.S. even as executions nationwide hover at historic lows. Support for the death penalty has been declining in recent years, but in Texas, Abbott hasn't relaxed his position. It's not the first time Abbott's decision-making has been in the spotlight over a high-profile death penalty case. We're Texas," said Republican state Rep. James White, who has served in the Legislature for nearly a decade.

Lawmakers, as well as celebrities including Rihanna, Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Phil and Kim Kardashian West, have called on Texas Gov. Reed is set to be executed Nov. 20 for the killing of 19-year-old Stacey Stites near the Central Texas city of Bastrop. Prosecutors maintain Reed raped and strangled Stites as she made her way to work in 1996. But Reed and his attorneys allege Stites' fiance, Jimmy Fennell, is the real culprit. Fennell's attorney says his client denies killing Stites.