The Supreme Court on Monday rejected appeals in two separate Texas cases involving civil rights claims.

In one case, the court declined to hear an appeal from Rodney Reed, a longtime Texas death row inmate who has been seeking DNA testing of crime scene evidence. Reed was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of Stacey Stites and has maintained his innocence throughout his incarceration.

Reed's legal team argued that testing the evidence could help clear him of the charges. The Supreme Court had previously allowed Reed's bid to prove his innocence to move forward nearly three years ago, but the court's latest decision effectively closes that avenue of appeal.

The court's rejection paves the way for Reed's execution to proceed, though no immediate execution date has been set. Reed's case has drawn significant attention from advocates who question his conviction.

In a separate case, the Supreme Court also rejected an appeal from Priscilla Villarreal, a citizen journalist from Laredo, Texas. Villarreal had sought to revive her civil rights claim against local officials who arrested her for her reporting activities.

Both decisions represent the court's refusal to intervene in ongoing Texas legal disputes involving claims of civil rights violations.