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In just a few minutes I’ll give us an update on our efforts to stop the execution of Rodney Reed, but first I want to bring you all some great news from San Francisco.

Several times over this past year I told the story of a young man who was running for District Attorney there named Chesa Boudin. He is one of the most kind, intelligent, compassionate leaders in the country and decided to step up to run the justice system there in San Francisco – and when he decided to step up – so many people thought it was so far fetched, so outrageous, that it would never happen, but on this past Saturday, after several days of counting all of the mail-in votes, and all of the provisional ballots, I am proud to announce that Chesa Boudin is the next DA of San Francisco.

And I wanted to talk with our audience about this because this is what happens when we organize. It’s not enough for us to say that we want the criminal justice system to change, wanting it and having a plan to change it are two very different things – we have to have a real plan to change it – and to me, the fastest, most effective way to do this begins and ends with changing the District Attorney.

95% of all of this nation’s criminal cases come through their offices.

And so far, since 2016, our organization, Real Justice, has helped to elect new DA’s in Philadelphia, Boston, St. Louis, , Jackson, Mississippi, San Antonio, and now San Francisco. And each of those DA’s are making radical shifts in the system that we are so proud of.

We need to see new District Attorneys in Atlanta, in Detroit, in all of the boroughs of New York, in Los Angeles, in Jacksonville, Florida, in Memphis and Nashville, and all over the country.

Switching gears – we are now just 7 days away from the scheduled execution of Rodney Reed in Texas. This weekend I took my whole family to Austin to help lead a rally there in front of the Governor’s Mansion and we are so proud of how many people from all over Texas, and around the country showed up, including so many TJMS listeners. We now have nearly 2.8 million signatures on our petition to save the life of Rodney Reed and if you have not yet signed the petition, we encourage you do so immediately at FreeRodneyReed.com.

Once you sign up, we send you new action steps to take immediately. And today we’re asking you to call the Governor, the Lt. Governor, the Board of Pardons and Paroles, and all of the legislators who have not yet got on board.

An amazing bi-partisan coalition of Republicans and Democrats have come together across Texas to try to stop this execution, but it’s only in the hands of a few people who can stop it.

Rodney has several court hearings this week across the country – and any one of those could stop the execution – but ultimately – it’s in the hands of Texas officials – mainly conservatives to get this right.

Before I go this morning, I want to address several flat out lies that people are spreading about Rodney Reed and this case. First and foremost, Rodney is on death row for the murder of one woman – named Stacey Stites – and in that case, experts from all over the world have reviewed the evidence and stated that they believe it is scientifically impossible that Rodney Reed murdered her. The evidence, the time of death, they just don’t add up. Dr. Phil McGraw reviewed the evidence and came to this same conclusion. The Innocence Project, which is the most reputable exoneration organization in the nation, came to the same conclusion.

Which is why so many people are now bringing up cases that Rodney Reed was never even charged with.

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