Debra Reese: Last News

Lawyers for a man who was executed in the US say someone else's DNA has been found on the murder weapon.

executed for killing a woman by beating her may be innocent as fresh DNA evidence comes to light.Ledell Lee, who was on death row for 21 years, was sentenced to execution after he was found guilty of murdering Debra Reese by beating her with a tyre thumper, a tool resembling a sawn-off baseball bat used by truckers to test the pressure of their wheels.Her strangled body was found in her home in Jacksonville, Arkansas in 1993 with multiple injuries.Lee, 51, was executed on April 20, 2017 by lethal injection using the sedative midazolam but just before he was put to death he told Mirror journalist Christopher Bucktin that they were "killing an innocent man".It has now been confirmed that a different man’s DNA has been discovered on the murder

With less than 24 hours before his execution, and with conviction in his voice, condemned Ledell Lee told me: “Chris, they are killing an innocent man.”

The Daily Star's FREE newsletter is spectacular! Sign up today for the best stories straight to your inboxA death row inmate may be exonerated after DNA evidence suggested his innocence — four years after he was executed. Ledell Lee, 51, was given a lethal injection on April 20 2017 by the state of Arkansas for the 1993 murder of 26-year-old Debra Reese.Lee maintained his innocence since his arrest until his death and fought for 12 years to clear his name, pleading with a judge to test DNA found on a shoe to be tested.Sadly, Lee’s plea for the DNA to be tested was rejected because he took too long to ask for the test and his execution went ahead as scheduled.