The bipartisan House committee has been vocal in its efforts to, at the very least, delay Roberson’s execution. Republican state Rep. Jeff Leach of Plano filed a motion to subpoena Roberson to appear before the committee along with Democratic Rep. Joe Moody of El Paso.
Roberson was convicted of murdering his 2-year-old daughter Nikki in 2002 in the East Texas town of Palestine. The prosecution focused a great deal on the “shaken baby syndrome” diagnosis medical professionals gave when Roberson brought his daughter to the hospital after saying that she had fallen off the bed while he was sleeping.
Advocates for Roberson have campaigned for his clemency on the basis that shaken baby syndrome has long since been called into question in criminal cases and is described as “junk science” by many experts. Just last week, a Texas man serving a long sentence after being convicted of abusing a child who was diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome had his conviction overturned.
Democratic state Rep. John Bucy of Williamson County, near Austin, is in Huntsville today and believes that Roberson’s case merits more consideration.#BREAKING: Here is the motion that Texas State Rep. Jeff @leachfortexas filed to stop the execution of Robert Roberson. Emergency hearing happening in Austin now. Leach is arguing it with Rep. Joe Moody and former Texas Supreme Court Justice Dale Wainwright.
— Jason Whitely (@JasonWhitely) October 17, 2024
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“What I am really worried about is what Roberson is going through,” he said. “If [Governor Greg Abbott doesn't grant clemency] I just think of the trauma this man is going through.”
Unrelated to the TRO decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Thursday that it must stay out of the matter. However, the court noted that “under these circumstances, a stay permitting examination of Roberson’s credible claims of actual innocence is imperative; yet this Court is unable to grant it. That means only one avenue for relief remains open: an executive reprieve."
At 5 p.m. Bucy said that he had not heard from the governor today, and as of this writing, it is unclear whether the execution will happen.
“I’m really afraid that we’re just about an hour away,” he said. “If this happens, we want to be sure that we are here to continue telling the story of Robert Roberson.”
