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Rodney Reed, pictured here in 2017, is facing execution on 20 November for a murder he says he didn't commit

UPDATE: The Texas Board of Criminal Appeals has STAYED Reed’s execution indefinitely, meaning – he has no execution date.

“We’re happy that we’re going to have an opportunity to present the compelling evidence that Rodney Reed didn’t commit the crime,” Bryce Benjet of the Innocence Project told The Texas Tribune. “The Court of Criminal Appeals recognized the substance of this case and the need for a special hearing where all the evidence can be considered.”

ORIGINAL: Rodney Reed just scored a huge break in his fight to avoid execution next week.

According to the New York Times, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted unanimously Friday to recommend that Gov. Greg Abbot delay Reed’s execution by 120 days.

In recent weeks, celebrities and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called on Abbot to intervene on Reed’s behalf after new evidence surfaced in the case. Reed is scheduled to be executed Wednesday after he was convicted of the 1996 murder of 19-year-old Stacey Stites in Bastrop, Texas.

Abbot can now either accept or reject the recommendation from the seven-member parole board.

Andrew MacRae, one of Reed’s lawyers said, “I have tears streaming down my cheeks. I’m overwhelmed, but not yet ecstatic, because we have to wait for the governor to act. But assuming he approves this, I’m going to call Rodney’s mom, and that will be ecstatic.”

RELATED: Kim Kardashian-West Joins Fight To Free Rodney Reed

RELATED: Thousands Sign Petition To Halt Execution Of Texas Inmate Rodney Reed

Texas Criminal Court Halts Rodney Reed’s Execution [UPDATE]  was originally published on theboxhouston.com