From Texas Public Radio:
An unusual legal move has bought more time for a Texas man who was scheduled to be executed Thursday night.
A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers has issued a subpoena to death row inmate Robert Roberson, arguing that he is actually innocent and should not be executed.
Roberson was convicted of murder in the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter. Prosecutors said she died of shaken baby syndrome, but new evidence showed she died of pneumonia rather than abuse. That new evidence was not considered in any of his dismissed appeals.
“For more than 20 years, Robert Roberson has spent 23.5 hours a day in solitary confinement, in a cell the size of most Texans’ closets, yearning and striving to be heard. That court may have let him down, but the Texas House of Representatives did not,” Texas Representatives Jeff Leach (R-Plano) and Joe Moody (D-El Paso) said in a joint statement. mentioned in.
Lawmakers said they have subpoenaed Mr. Roberson to hear testimony regarding Texas’ death penalty. Mr. Roberson was scheduled to testify on Monday, October 21, several days after the execution, which was scheduled for Thursday at 6 p.m.
Just 90 minutes before the execution, a Travis County judge presided over a court hearing to decide whether the Texas Legislature’s subpoena or the capital murder warrant was more important and should be respected.
Judge Jessica Mangrum granted a temporary restraining order to prevent the execution. This began a night of legal impasse for Roberson.
The state intends to carry out the death penalty and successfully had Judge Mangrum’s restraining order overturned by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Lawmakers then appealed to the Texas Supreme Court, arguing that the effort to subpoena Roberson was a civil matter. The state Supreme Court agreed.
“Whether the Legislature can use its power to compel the attendance of witnesses to block the executive branch’s execution authority is a Texas civil law question, not a criminal law question,” Justice Evan Young wrote. .
“If the Legislature invokes its authority, must the Executive Branch yield? In other words, proceeding with executions in these circumstances would amount to the Executive Branch encroaching on the Legislature’s broad powers. ” Young continued. “Or, conversely, allowing various committees of the Legislature to subpoena prisoners who are the subject of an impending death sentence would constitute an intrusion by the Legislature into the orderly functioning of the law and an interference with the judicial process and administration. Will it jeopardize the operation of the feature?
The Supreme Court left the resolution of the separation of powers issue to the Travis County District Court.
Roberson’s death warrant expires at midnight Friday, so it’s unclear when a new execution date will be scheduled.
Meanwhile, Roberson, who has been on death row for 22 years, will live another day.
“We are deeply grateful to the Texas Supreme Court for respecting the role of the Texas Legislature in such an important matter,” Leach and Moody said in a joint statement. “We look forward to welcoming Robert to the Texas State Capitol and joining 31 million Texans in giving him the opportunity to finally hear the truth.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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