Texas was about to execute Robert Roberson. Then a last-ditch tactic bought him more time

HOUSTON– HOUSTON (AP) — Robert Robersonwill be the first person in the US to be put to death for a murder conviction linked to a diagnosis shaken baby syndromewas running out of options to stop his execution in Texas.

A state parole boardmultiple lower courts and the U.S. Supreme Court all denied his requests to delay his lethal injection Thursday night over the 2002 murder of his two-year-old daughter. And it seemed unlikely that Texas Governor Greg Abbott would use his power to impose a to grant a one-time reprieve of 30 days, as he had only stopped one impending execution in his nearly ten years in office.

Roberson’s last hope rested with a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers who believe he is innocent and their extraordinary and unprecedented strategy to delay his execution: issuing a subpoena for him to testify before a House committee next week Deputies, which would be days after he was scheduled to testify. die.

After several hours of legal debate Thursday night between three different state courts, the Texas Supreme Court sided with lawmakers and upheld a temporary restraining order that stopped the execution.

The unconventional method of using a subpoena to stop Roberson’s execution was interrupted by the delay of the Texas Supreme Court, the state’s highest civil court. Amy Starnes, spokesperson for the court, said the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court was not aware of another execution that had been stayed by the court.

“It’s really quite dramatic and certainly something I’ve never seen before,” said Sandra Guerra Thompson, a law professor at the University of Houston Law Center.

Roberson will now speak in person before the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Monday. But beyond that it is unclear what will happen in his case. A new implementation date could be set. Roberson’s attorneys say they will use the extra time he has to fight for a new trial.

Here’s what you need to know about Roberson’s case and how his execution was postponed:

Roberson, 57, was convicted of murdering his daughter, Nikki Curtis, in the East Texas town of Palestine. Authorities say Curtis died from injuries related to shaken baby syndrome. Roberson’s attorneys and some medical experts say his daughter died not from abuse but from complications related to pneumonia. They say his conviction was based on flawed and now outdated scientific evidence.

The diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome refers to a serious brain injury caused when a child’s head is injured by shaking or other violent impact, such as being thrown against a wall or thrown to the ground.

Roberson’s supporters do not deny that head and other injuries from child abuse are real. But they say doctors misdiagnosed Curtis’ injuries as being related to shaken baby syndrome and new evidence has shown the girl died from complications related to severe pneumonia.

Anderson County District Attorney Allyson Mitchell has said the prosecution’s case showed the girl was abused by her father.

The Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee decided late Wednesday to issue a subpoena for Roberson as a way to delay his execution.

“This was one of the few options open to them, which was the subpoena available to them,” Thompson said.

Committee members argued before an Austin judge Thursday, less than two hours before Roberson’s scheduled execution, that they should hear from Roberson whether a 2013 law that allowed inmates to challenge their convictions based on new scientific evidence, was ignored in his judgment. case.

The judge sided with lawmakers and issued a temporary restraining order that would effectively delay the execution. The order came as the U.S. Supreme Court denied Roberson’s request to stay his execution.

The judge’s order was appealed by the state to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s highest criminal court, which overturned the order. Lawmakers had one final step: an appeal to the Texas Supreme Court.

Thompson said lawmakers could ask the Texas Supreme Court to intervene because laws regarding subpoenas are civil in nature.

“I think it’s extremely unusual, but it’s not likely to become a regular occurrence,” Thompson said.

In its ruling, the Texas Supreme Court said that while it has no authority over criminal cases, the questions raised about whether the legislature can use its power to compel a witness to testify and, as a result, prevent the enforcement of a blocking a death sentence is a matter. of civil law that must be decided.

“While the news from the Supreme Court is encouraging, we cannot stop advocating for Robert because of this temporary victory. Despite the extraordinary efforts of our elected officials, his attorneys, medical experts and the hundreds of thousands of people who have spoken out on Robert’s behalf, his fate is far from assured,” the Innocence Project, which is working with Roberson’s legal team, said in a news release . statement.

Roberson will testify in person before the Texas House committee on Monday, said Gretchen Sween, one of Roberson’s attorneys.

Once he appears before the commission, the subpoena will be served and nothing will prevent a new execution date from being set, Thompson said.

Mitchell, the Anderson County district attorney, could request a new execution date at any time after Monday’s hearing, Sween said.

Mitchell did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

But under Texas law, a new execution couldn’t take place until about 90 days after a judge sets a new date. Another execution could take place in 2025 at the earliest, Sween said.

“We will continue to seek opportunities to obtain relief for Robert in the form of a new trial. But the only obvious way for that to happen at this point is through the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which is not yet inclined to look at the new evidence,” Sween said in an email.

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