With just hours to go before his execution, the Texas Supreme Court granted a last-minute stay for Robert Roberson. According to the Houston Chronicle, this intervention came after a legal scramble in which the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned a lower court's temporary restraining order requested by Roberson's supporters.
Roberson's counsel and a cross-party cluster of Texas legislators had fervently argued the urgency of re-examining the evidence upon which his conviction hinged, notably theories around shaken baby syndrome. Roberson was convicted in 2003 of shaking his daughter, Nikki, in such a way that she sustained fatal brain injuries, yet experts in recent years have cast serious doubts on those medical conclusions. Roberson's attorney Gretchen Sween, spoke on the newfound hope: "The vast team fighting for Robert Roberson--people all across Texas, the country, and the world--are elated tonight that a contingent of brave, bipartisan Texas lawmakers chose to dig deep into the facts of Robert's case that no court had yet considered and recognized that his life was worth fighting for," she said in a statement obtained by CBS News.
Justice Evan Young, in delivering the Texas Supreme Court's opinion, pointed to the civil nature of the stay, given the legislative subpoena requiring Roberson’s testimony before a committee. Meanwhile, there was a palpable surging pressure on Governor Greg Abbott for intervention. Abbott, who has granted a reprieve only once during his tenure, was urged by Justice Sonia Sotomayor of the U.S. Supreme Court to consider a 30-day pause so the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles could review the case again, especially in light of new evidence that could signify Roberson's actual innocence.
State lawmakers from both sides of the aisle joined hands in a rare showcase of bipartisanship to underscore the gravity of this case. State Rep. Joe Moody took point on the presentation of new testimony that pointed to Roberson's potential innocence. "That is inappropriate, that is improper. And if that is the case it is absolutely within the Legislature’s jurisdiction and within our power to be able to look into that. And that is the crux of why we need Mr. Roberson to testify," Moody told Houston Chronicle. Now, as daylight fades and the state’s highest court has intervened, Robert Roberson has been granted a vital respite, his fate hinging on a blend of law and a legislature's pursuit of truth.
Looking ahead, an official spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice remarked that the Supreme Court's decision would mean Roberson is to be transferred back to Polunsky Unit in Livingston, as the unfolding legal proceedings determine his ultimate destiny. The execution warrant, initially set to expire at midnight following the scheduled execution, is now null while the state navigates these unprecedented waters, as outlined in the report from CBS News.
