On Thursday night time, the Texas Supreme Courtroom handed down an extraordinary order saving Robert Roberson from execution — however doubtlessly not for very lengthy.
Roberson was convicted in 2003 of murdering his daughter on the speculation that she died of “shaken child syndrome.” Nevertheless, in a rare flip of occasions, it now seems doubtless that Roberson is harmless. Not solely that, however it’s removed from clear that his daughter was even a sufferer of homicide within the first place.
One purpose to doubt the conviction is that trendy science appears at shaken child syndrome with rising skepticism. Extra importantly, nevertheless, the proof in Roberson’s case means that his poor woman truly died from a mix of pneumonia and drugs that ought to by no means have been prescribed to such a younger affected person, and that the accidents {that a} 2003 jury attributed to baby abuse might have resulted from a surgical procedure.
One more reason why the order in In re Texas Home of Representatives is so extraordinary is that it includes what could also be an unprecedented battle between the state’s legislature and its governor. Texas Gov. Gregg Abbott (R) has the ability to challenge a 30-day pause on Roberson’s execution (though to not grant him everlasting clemency) however has to this point refused to take action, and the state supposed to execute Roberson Thursday night time.
The day earlier than, nevertheless, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers issued a subpoena looking for Roberson’s testimony earlier than a committee of the state’s Home of Representatives. This listening to isn’t scheduled till Monday, and Roberson clearly couldn’t adjust to this subpoena if he had been killed Thursday night time.
So Roberson’s case raises what could also be a singular separation of powers challenge below the Texas Structure: Can Texas’s govt department of presidency perform an in any other case lawful execution if doing so would forestall its legislative department from listening to testimony from a witness it has already subpoenaed?
Roberson’s case has proved to be divisive inside Texas’s Republican-controlled authorities
The Texas Supreme Courtroom’s order in Texas Home has nothing to say about whether or not or not Roberson is harmless. Certainly, the state Supreme Courtroom isn’t ordinarily allowed to weigh in on prison appeals in any respect — these are dealt with by a completely separate court docket referred to as the Texas Courtroom of Prison Appeals, which has repeatedly denied reduction to Roberson. Nor did the state Supreme Courtroom definitively rule on whether or not the Home’s subpoena can halt an execution.
As an alternative, in a concurring opinion joined by two different justices, Justice Evan Younger explains that he voted to quickly halt Roberson’s execution so as to give the courts time to determine what is meant to occur within the uncommon circumstance when the legislature seeks testimony from a demise row inmate on the eve of his execution.
“We would not have clear precedent on this query,” Younger writes, which is unsurprising given the extremely unlikely state of affairs that led to this case coming earlier than his court docket.
Two different facets of the case are price noting. One is that this case has pitted most of the states’ Republicans towards one another. Whereas Abbott, who has but to intervene on Roberson’s behalf, is a Republican, so too are the 2 Texas lawmakers who launched the decision to subpoena Roberson. Each justice on the Texas Supreme Courtroom is a Republican, as is each choose on the Courtroom of Prison Appeals, which most not too long ago voted 5-4 to disclaim reduction to Roberson.
The opposite facet is that Roberson’s destiny doubtless rests with Texas’s Board of Pardons and Paroles, which already voted as soon as on Wednesday to not advocate clemency for him. If this board recommends clemency, Abbott might commute Roberson’s demise sentence altogether. With out a clemency suggestion, nevertheless, Abbott can solely delay the execution by 30 days.
For now, Roberson’s attorneys are attempting to purchase him time. At most, the legislative subpoena might forestall Texas from rescheduling his execution till after Monday, when his testimony is meant to happen. Then it’s doubtless as much as Abbott to grant him one other 30 days to persuade the pardon board to reverse its choice.
The placing factor about this case, nevertheless, is that nearly everybody who has touched it needs Roberson to stay apart from the few individuals in Texas’s authorities (the Courtroom of Prison Appeals, the pardon board, and Abbott) who even have the ability to save lots of him. One in every of Roberson’s advocates is Brian Wharton, the lead detective in his case who now believes he’s harmless.
One other is US Supreme Courtroom Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who penned a 10-page assertion explaining that the US Supreme Courtroom is unable to intervene as a result of Roberson doesn’t declare that any of his rights below federal legislation are being violated. But, whereas Sotomayor agreed that she is powerless as a result of Roberson “presents no cognizable federal declare,” her assertion virtually begs the state officers who can truly save Roberson’s life to take action.
“An govt reprieve of thirty days would supply the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles with a chance to rethink the proof of Roberson’s precise innocence,” Sotomayor writes on the finish of that assertion. “That would forestall a miscarriage of justice from occurring: executing a person who has raised credible proof of precise innocence.”
