With execution halted, TX death row inmate Robert Roberson to address lawmakers in ‘shaken baby syndrome' case
DALLAS - A death row inmate who was scheduled to be executed last night will instead testify before state lawmakers on Monday.
The Texas Supreme Court paused the execution of Robert Roberson ahead of Monday’s hearing.
"I say this as a supporter of the death penalty. I do not want my children to inherit a state where potentially innocent people are put to death at the hands of the government," said State Rep. Brian Harrison, a Republican from Waxahachie.
For 22 years, 57-year-old Roberson has been a death row inmate.
He was set to be executed on Thursday. But after a subpoena from a Texas House committee, the Texas Supreme Court paused the execution.
Texas Supreme Court halts Robert Roberson's execution in 'shaken baby syndrome' case
The Texas Supreme Court halted the controversial execution of Robert Roberson on Thursday night after an unorthodox move by Texas lawmakers.
Roberson was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, in Palestine, Texas in 2002.
He took her to the emergency room with a high fever, where medical staff determined her condition was consistent with shaken baby syndrome.
That determination was a substantial part of his trial and conviction.
Rep. Harrison is on the committee that subpoenaed Roberson.
"Every medical witness that we heard from testified that no crime occurred. The lead detective in the case, the man who’s largely responsible for putting Mr. Roberson on death row, has testified that he believes he is completely innocent and that no crime occurred. And so I was disappointed when the Board of Pardons recommended against clemency," Harrison said.
Roberson’s attorneys and those who testified to lawmakers this week said the child died from natural causes, possibly undiagnosed pneumonia.
Medical experts described how shaken baby syndrome has been discredited in other cases.
The bipartisan House committee unanimously supported Roberson’s case.
Harrison and his colleagues questioned why the courts did not reverse the conviction based on protections in state law. And now they will hear from Roberson directly.
"I don’t believe any legislative body anywhere in the United States of America has ever issued a subpoena to a death row inmate hours before their execution," Harrison said.
The committee has requested Roberson testify on Monday.
Whether it will be in-person or virtually has not yet been determined.
Harrison believes Roberson deserves a new trial.
"I have been calling for that," he said. "Not in 21 years has any jury ever heard any arguments or evidence that this man may not have committed the crime. That’s an absolute travesty."