BASTROP, Texas — This week, the United States Supreme Court delivered a major ruling in the case of Rodney Reed.
Reed is convicted of murdering and raping Stacey Stites in Bastrop in 1996, and is still sitting on death row.
The high court's new ruling involved DNA evidence in the case and Reed's family and attorneys are now weighing in on what this means for him.
Jane Pucher with the Innocence Project is one of Reed's attorneys. She says now, there's new hope in this decades-long case.
Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Reed would be allowed to pursue post-conviction DNA testing of evidence, something he's been pushing for since the start, but still isn't a guarantee.
"It means that his case is now going to go back to the Fifth Circuit, where we will have further litigation and hopefully it gets us one step closer to getting DNA testing one day," said Pucher.
"We've been asking that from day one. That's all we ever ask for; the testing of all evidence, calling all witnesses in a fair trial," said Rodrick Reed, Rodney's brother.
Rodrick lives in the town of Bastrop. He's maintained his brother's innocence for decades, even posting signs and flags at his own home showing support for his brother.
Now, he says this ruling from the SCOTUS is the next step to what he feels like will hopefully exonerate his brother.
"We haven't had justice because there's evidence, there's testimony, there's medical forensic science out there that has proved his innocence," said Rodrick.
Rodrick says he knows his brother is innocent. He maintains that Rodney and Stacey had an affair and that her fiancé is the one who killed her.
But aside from being convicted in Stites' death, Rodney was also charged in four other sexual assault cases in the 80's and 90's.
"They are all false allegations. I believe they were put out there to paint a picture of my brother so they could get the verdict they wanted, which was death," said Rodrick.
"They had to make him look ugly. And that's the job that the Bastrop County DA's office did on my brother to get the death sentence."
While in Bastrop, KVUE spoke with Bastrop County District Attorney Bryan Goertz's office. Although he declined an on-camera interview Thursday, DA Goertz said he would send us a statement. As of publication Friday, KVUE has yet to receive that statement.
In years past, prosecutors have said the evidence is too degraded to test. Crime scene photos show the murder weapon, Stacey's belt, in a box with other evidence. But even if it was mishandled, Pucher says it needs to be tested anyway.
"We've been really pleasantly surprised in some cases how much DNA remains many years later. And that's what's been so frustrating for Mr. Reed and his legal team. We just want to get to the truth and get to the testing," said Pucher.
KVUE asked Rodrick if the DNA comes back and indeed points towards his brother's guilt, what this would mean for he and his family after dedicating so much time to maintaining his innocence.
"I don't see how it would, but we keep moving forward because DNA can be planted. And as long as they had it, as long as they denied testing it. There's a reason," said Rodrick.
Reed's attorney's and family members say the Supreme Court's ruling also opens a path for others who have claimed to be wrongfully convicted, and after failed attempts before, they're still pushing for a new trial.
"He is entitled to have a fair trial by a jury of his peers where the state has to put forward evidence that it knows exists that supports his innocence," said Pucher.
Rodrick says he won't stop until he feels that justice is served.
"We don't want Rodney to be free. We want Rodney Reed to be exonerated, to have all of that taken off of him."