By CatholicVote | Created at 2024-11-15 22:30:01 | Updated at 2024-11-21 13:27:41
5 days ago
CV NEWS FEED // A month after a coalition of Texas lawmakers issued a legislative subpoena that delayed the execution of Robert Roberson, the state’s Supreme Court has ruled that the legislators cannot do that.
The Associated Press reports Roberson was accused of killing his daughter through child abuse that resulted in “shaken baby syndrome,” a diagnosis that many dismiss as “junk science.”
On October 17, the same day as Roberson’s scheduled execution, lawmakers issued a subpoena calling him to testify at the State Capitol. This resulted in the Texas Supreme Court allowing a temporary stay on Roberson’s execution while the justices considered the matter.
One of the lawmakers who has been leading the effort to save Roberson, Rep. Joe Moody, said it was “never our specific intention” to pause the execution with the subpoena.
Moody said that Roberson could still be called to testify. He said the court ruling “reinforced our belief that the Committee can indeed obtain Mr. Roberson’s testimony and made clear it expects the executive branch of government to accommodate us in doing so.”
One of Roberson’s attorneys, Gretchen Sween, said that it is up to Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office when Roberson will testify. Previously, this office suppressed efforts to allow Roberson’s testimony.
Sween stated, “Whether the attorney general’s office will change its strategy and cooperate remains to be seen.”
Roberson has not been given a new execution date; however, KXAN states, the execution will proceed unless Texas Gov. Greg Abbott grants a 30-day reprieve, which he failed to do before Roberson’s original execution date.
The parole board voted not to recommend clemency before Roberson’s execution date.
As CatholicVote previously reported, many people think that Roberson was falsely accused of killing his two-year-old daughter. His daughter had several health problems, including pneumonia and undiagnosed sepsis, that experts think were responsible for her tragic death.
Texas bishops thanked the Supreme Court in an October 17 post for granting Roberson a stay of execution.
The bishops stated, “Now is the time for all Texans to demand justice for Robert and denounce the execution of a likely innocent man which violates the laws of God and humanity to which we hold one another accountable,” the bishops wrote.
