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Robert Roberson could testify before lawmakers next week
Members of a bipartisan Texas House committee are preparing to once again hear testimony from death row inmate Robert Roberson.
DALLAS - Members of a bipartisan Texas House committee are preparing to once again hear testimony from death row inmate Robert Roberson.
Roberson was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter in 2002. Doctors said the child died from shaken baby syndrome.
But Roberson’s lawyers called it junk science and claimed she possibly had pneumonia.
What to know about shaken baby syndrome as a Texas man could be first in US executed over it
A Texas man this week could become the first person executed in the U.S. under a murder conviction tied to the diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome
In October, the House committee heard testimony from the lead investigator and other evidence that was not brought up in the trial.
State Rep. Brian Harrison, a Republican from Waxahachie, is on the committee.
Robert Roberson
"If we execute somebody without due process and fair trials, I mean, that calls into question the entire integrity of the entire criminal justice system in the state of Texas. And I will not stand for that," he said.
In November, the Texas Supreme Court ruled lawmakers cannot block an execution. But the court said lawmakers should have the opportunity to hear from Roberson.
Texas Supreme Court opinion clears path for Robert Roberson's execution
The Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers cannot stop executions through a legislative subpoena. The opinion clears the way for the execution of Roberson, who was convicted of murder in a 2002 shaken baby case.
"My fear is that politics is being put ahead of justice, and that is something that we should never tolerate in the great state of Texas," Harrison said.
Some committee members told FOX 4 the Texas Attorney General’s office has been silent. They accused AG Ken Paxton of intentionally being slow to respond to run the clock out.
In a statement, committee chair Joe Moody said they intend to hear from Roberson next Friday.
"While time is limited, we don’t intend to let the clock ‘run out’ when the Supreme Court’s ruling has made it clear that a subpoena for him is proper and must be honored here," the statement said.
When asked if he thinks the executive branch feels differently about the case, Rep. Harrison said he has no idea.
Texas AG Ken Paxton argues for Robert Roberson’s execution in ‘shaken baby syndrome’ case
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is blasting state lawmakers for delaying the execution of a man convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter and trying to dispute claims that he was sentenced based on "junk science."
"I have no idea who gets them. I do not believe that anybody who has become as familiar of the facts of the case as I have can hold the position they do. And we've got literal falsehoods being pushed out by the executive branch. But now their official position is that a jury convicted Mr. Roberson of their words, beating his daughter to death. Well, if we know anything about the case, we know for a fact he did not, that this child was not beaten to death because we have photographs, and we have cat scans that were contemporaneous but that no jury has ever seen," he said.
The Anderson County District Attorney has not filed for a new execution warrant.
By law, Roberson cannot be executed within 90 days of the Supreme Court’s November ruling.