(Houston, Texas) The execution of Robert Roberson, convicted in 2002 for the death of his 2-year-old daughter, was scheduled for October 17. Prosecutors said Mr. Roberson violently shook the child, but the scientific validity of shaken baby syndrome has been questioned since then.
Posted at 12:15 a.m.
J. David Goodman
The New York Times
Texas can execute Robert Roberson, convicted of killing his two-year-old daughter in a case that relied on evidence related to shaken baby syndrome, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday.
Representatives from both parties in the Texas House of Representatives, who believed that Mr. Roberson deserves a new trial, obtained a moratorium on the execution last month by asking Mr. Roberson to testify before a bipartisan commission.
Such a last-minute intervention in a scheduled execution had never before been attempted in Texas. The parliamentarians’ action raised new questions about the separation of executive, legislative and judicial powers.
In its 31-page decision, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the subpoena aimed at blocking the execution had exceeded legislative powers.
“We conclude that, in these circumstances, the Commission’s power to subpoena does not include the power to override the prescribed legal process leading to an execution,” Justice Evan Young wrote in the Court’s decision. , all nine members of which are Republicans.
A new execution date can now be set. But that will take at least three months, and the court said that during that time, lawmakers can still call Mr. Roberson to testify, and the executive branch — in this case, the prison enforcement authorities — will have to respond to such a request.
The commission’s subpoena, issued on October 16, the day before Roberson was to be executed, allowed the execution of the sentence to be postponed. But lawmakers failed to reach agreement with state prison officials on whether Mr. Roberson would be allowed to testify in person or do so via video link from the prison. The question was left to the discretion of the Court.
The court “made it clear that it expected the executive branch of government to satisfy us” by obtaining Mr. Roberson’s testimony, Joe Moody, a Democrat, and Jeff Leach, a Republican, said in a statement. spouse.
The Court’s decision does not answer questions raised by Mr. Roberson’s lawyers about his conviction. They maintained his innocence and argued that his daughter, Nikki, died from pneumonia and prescribed medication, not from physical abuse. Her lawyers presented expert witnesses to argue that prosecutors wrongly attributed aspects of Nikki’s condition to shaken baby syndrome.
This article was published in the New York Times.
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