
A man convicted of raping and murdering a four-year-old child in 2001 has had his death sentence put on hold by a federal judge, just a week before his scheduled execution date.
Jason Reeves’s attorneys filed a federal appeal that could extend the case another few years. Calcasieu Parish DA John DeRosier says it’s a ploy to hold out until the state Legislature outlaws the death penalty.
“These defense lawyers generally will take no action until they have to. The theory is they want to delay these cases as long as they can, and they do everything they can to postpone them.”
Reeves kidnapped, raped, and then stabbed four-year-old Mary Jean Thigpen of Moss Bluff to death in November of 2001.
DeRosier says the lengthy legal process will now cost the state and feds hundreds of thousands more in legal fees.
“They will take it all the way up to the United States Supreme Court, and it will probably take years, because we the public are paying for it.”
Even if Reeves’ team had not filed the federal appeal, it’s unlikely he would have been executed. The state says they can’t get the lethal injection drugs needed, but DeRosier says that’s just an excuse.
“The feds have no problems getting the drugs, the state of Texas has no problems getting the drugs, you can find drugs everywhere. Every veterinarian in Louisiana has humane drugs to put animals to sleep.”
The state has not carried out an execution in nearly a decade.