Watch Live: Death row inmate Robert Roberson scheduled to testify in unprecedented legislative hearing
By Kayla Guo and Pooja Salhotra, The Texas Tribune
Oct. 21, 2024
"Watch live: Death row inmate Robert Roberson scheduled to testify in unprecedented legislative hearing" was first published by The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
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The next dramatic moment in the last-ditch effort to spare Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson could play out Monday in the Texas Capitol, as Roberson has been subpoenaed to speak to a House committee at noon.
The Texas House committee that subpoenaed Roberson, temporarily saving his life, called for him to testify in person. But Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is representing the state’s prison system, said he would only testify via video. In a letter to lawmakers, Roberson’s lawyers objected to Paxton’s announcement, accused his office of misrepresenting several facts in multiple court filings and asked that their client appear in person.
[A legal battle spared Robert Roberson’s life, for now. Here’s what happens next.]
It wasn’t immediately clear Monday morning if Roberson would appear in person, virtually or not at all. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Republican state Rep. Jeff Leach said lawmakers are considering a “field trip” to the Polunsky unit if the man does not appear in Austin on Monday, CNN reported.
Roberson was convicted in 2003 in the death of his chronically ill 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, who was given a shaken baby syndrome diagnosis that many experts and lawmakers say is no longer supported by the scientific evidence. Roberson is seeking a new trial based on new findings his attorneys say debunk flawed science presented in the original trial. He has maintained his innocence over two decades on death row, while prosecutors say evidence of abuse is still convincing.
Roberson’s family members traveled from Tyler to the Capitol on Monday morning, hoping he would testify and convince lawmakers that he is innocent.
“We are really thankful to the House for taking a stand and doing the right thing when no one else would,” said Jennifer Martin, Roberson’s sister-in-law. “It’s still a guessing game on whether he’ll be here.”
[Gov. Greg Abbott condemns Texas House lawmakers that intervened in Robert Roberson’s execution]
Days earlier, Martin said she was with Roberson in Huntsville, preparing for his execution. Her son, Nicholas Featherstone, stood outside the prison with a few dozen others protesting against Roberson’s execution.
“I just hope justice is served,” Featherstone said.
The Texas Supreme Court halted Roberson’s execution late Thursday — the first time in Texas history, experts believed, that one high court blocked an execution that was already approved by the other. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals repeatedly declined to stop Roberson’s execution, clearing the way for it to move forward earlier that same day.
The Texas Supreme Court’s order came as a result of a House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee subpoena ordering Roberson to testify at a hearing set for four days after his execution date. The lawmakers, who warned the state was about to kill a likely innocent man, got their way — at least for now.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2024/10/21/robert-roberson-execution-subpoena-texas-house-testimony/.
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