Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson will testify IN PERSON before lawmakers Monday

Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson escaped execution Thursday night and on Monday, he will be out of prison for the day to testify before the very lawmakers who literally saved his life, at least temporarily.

It’s a legal maneuver being called unprecedented, wild, and downright creative.

After a bipartisan group of lawmakers subpoenaed Roberson for a hearing that would happen days after his scheduled execution, a Travis County judge initially halted the lethal injection 90 minutes by granting a temporary restraining order.

The lawmakers argued that they needed to hear from Roberson about whether a 2013 law created to allow prisoners to challenge their convictions based on new scientific evidence was ignored in his case.

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The judge ruled in their favor, which started a legal roller coaster with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals first striking down the county judge’s ruling and then the Texas Supreme Court issuing a partial stay late into the night.

“This is one of the wildest processes I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure I’ll ever see anything like it again. You know, it’s pretty unheard of to have a legislative body step in this way and issue a subpoena as an effort to stop an execution,” UH Criminal Law Professor Sandra Guerra Thompson said.

Now, Roberson will testify in person before the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Monday, his lawyer, Gretchen Sween, confirmed to KPRC 2’s Bryce Newberry. Roberson will be one of several people called to testify. He’ll be taken to and from the State Capitol by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

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Two of the lawmakers who support Roberson’s efforts to have his new evidence considered issued this joint statement Thursday:

“For over 20 years, Robert Roberson has spent 23.5 hours of every single day in solitary confinement in a cell no bigger than the closets of most Texans, longing and striving to be heard. And while some courthouses may have failed him, the Texas House has not. We’re deeply grateful to the Texas Supreme Court for respecting the role of the Texas legislature in such consequential matters. We look forward to welcoming Robert to the Texas Capitol, and along with 31 million Texans, finally giving him--and the truth--a chance to be heard.” -- State Representative Joe Moody, Chairman, Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee and State Representative Jeff Leach, Chairman, Texas House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee

What happens to Roberson after Monday’s hearing?

There’s no clear answer to what will happen to Roberson after Monday’s hearing.

“A lot of the process after the hearing is still up in the air,” Representative Lacey Hull told KPRC 2’s Bryce Newberry. “We know the world will be watching and this man needs a new trial and that is what the hope is.”

Roberson’s attorney explained that Gov. Greg Abbott’s ability to intervene to stop the execution has now expired and said for now, they are just looking ahead until Monday.

“The local District Attorney could decide to seek an execution the very next day if she chooses. The sole power to make those decisions rests with the local DA in the county where the case was tried. But we sincerely hope that choice will not be made in light of the criminal jurisprudence committee’s commitment to airing the truth,” Gretchen Sween said.

If the District Attorney of Anderson County, Allyson Mitchell, does issue another death warrant, Texas law requires Roberson to get a 91-day notice.

“Legally, what happens after that, that’s anybody’s guess," Guerra Thompson said. “It is very possible that after he testifies, another execution date is set and he is still put to death. But it’s also possible that, you know, maybe with this additional opportunity to hear from him that perhaps he will get some kind of clemency from the governor."

She said the path involving the governor is the most viable.

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Growing support for Roberson’s case

Roberson was convicted of murdering his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, in 2002. The conviction rested on expert testimony about shaken baby syndrome.

Roberson and his attorneys argue that new evidence shows his daughter died of pneumonia. The other argument is tied to Monday’s hearing -- that the shaken baby syndrome testimony of 2002 would not hold up in a court of law today -- that it’s considered “junk science” and Roberson should get protection under the state’s 2013 Junk Science Writ. The law created a way for prisoners to challenge their convictions with new scientific evidence.

“There’s pretty wide sentiment that we may be dealing with someone who’s actually innocent,” Guerra Thompson said. “Some of the critical evidence that the jury considered in convicting him was just not scientifically valid.”

The U.S. Supreme Court late Thursday denied a stay of execution because Roberson didn’t present a “cognizable federal claim” to the court, which the court said left them powerless to act.

“This is everyone uniting to save what we believe is a potentially innocent life and to where he can have a new trial. So this truly is a bipartisan effort, Texans coming together,” Rep. Hull said, after meeting with Roberson in prison in recent weeks. “Robert is a truly beautiful, amazing person who just shared his faith and what he talked about was all the Bible studies that he does, how he tries to bring other people to God, how he hopes he has his day in court, where he can be heard, and that he would love to be able to get out and to be able to give back to society.”

In a strongly worded statement, Justice Sonia Sotomayor said Gov. Abbott should step in and give Roberson a 30-day reprieve.

In her 10-page statement, Justice Sotomayor made the argument that with the evidence Roberson has brought forward his case should be reconsidered. She also pointed out that, just this week, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a new trial to another defendant convicted in a shaken-baby-syndrome case based on testimony by the very same expert witness who testified in Roberson’s trial.

“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. In Texas, as in virtually every other State and the federal government, “[t]he Executive has the power to exercise discretion to grant clemency and affect sentences at any stage after an individual is convicted[.]” Vandyke v. State, 538 S. W. 3d 561, 581 (Tex. Ct. Crim. App. 2017)," she wrote, ending by calling on Gov. Abbott. "An executive reprieve of thirty days would provide the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles with an opportunity to reconsider the evidence of Roberson’s actual innocence. That could prevent a miscarriage of justice from occurring: executing a man who has raised credible evidence of actual innocence."

Rep. Hull said she has not been in touch with the governor.

“I am not sure. I cannot speak to what he was thinking,” she said, when asked why he’s been silent on the matter.