All day Thursday, many watched as the fate of Robert Roberson hung in the balance.
Roberson, 57, was convicted of the murder of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, in 2003 and sentenced to death. He has maintained his innocence in his two decades on death row, and doubt has been cast on his conviction due to the “shaken baby syndrome” theory partially used to convict him being later disputed.
Originally set to die in 2016, Roberson’s execution was delayed due to a 2013 Texas “junk science” law that allows for people convicted using disputed scientific theories to have their cases re-examined. Further appeals failed, leading to Roberson’s execution scheduled for Thursday.
However, on Wednesday, members of the Texas House of Representatives’ Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence issued a subpoena calling for Roberson to testify next week before the committee in Austin. The subpoena came after lawmakers heard hours of testimony as they sought to understand if Roberson’s case had been dutifully re-examined under the junk science law.
Thursday was full of questions, namely how the subpoena would impact the case. A Travis County judge issued a temporary restraining order Thursday honoring the subpoena, but that TRO was blocked by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals hours later.
Late Thursday night, an emergency motion to the Texas Supreme Court to delay Roberson’s execution was granted, allowing him to testify on Monday in Austin and temporarily saving his life.
After the news broke late Thursday, many accounts on X celebrated the order to stay Roberson’s execution, with one account saying the stay was an example of Democrats and Republicans working together to achieve a “decent thing.” The committee that issued the subpoena is made up of five Republicans and four Democrats.
At the prison in Huntsville where Roberson is incarcerated, a crowd of roughly 15 people who came to protest his executionerupted in applause and cheers as the news was announced.
Other accounts on X thanked God, with one account writing: “In tears. My goodness. They actually did the right thing.”
Other comments criticized the way the events played out.
“A legislative committee now has more power than the governor (limited to a one time 30 day commutation) or highest criminal court (which is bound by a legal standard),” said Matt Rinaldi, the former head of the Republican Party of Texas and a former Dallas-area state lawmaker. “This is the way you destroy the legitimacy of a justice system.”
Multiple elected officials, from Texas and other states, called on Gov. Greg Abbott on Thursday to intervene in Roberson’s case. Many accounts on X also called for Abbott to spare Roberson’s life, something the governor has only done once before, in 2018.
Abbott did not publicly comment on the case Thursday.Spokespeople for Abbott didn’t respond to three text messages from The Dallas Morning News on Thursday.
State Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, was active all day Thursday on X with posts calling for the subpoena to be honored. Harrison said justice requires Roberson get a new trial.
Harrison, a member of the House committee that issued the subpoena calling for Roberson.
After the stay was announced, Harrison posted the news to X, calling the order “huge.” In the replies to his post, several accounts celebrated the news and thanked Harrison for fighting for Roberson and for “justice.”
State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, another member of the committee, attended virtually a Travis County court hearing on Thursday that granted the temporary restraining order.
“I’ve been doing this long enough to know and to see when the system has failed somebody,” Leach said in an X post. “The Legislature has a role to step in and make sure that our justice system is not just preserved, but strengthened.”
At 7 p.m., as Roberson’s fate hung in the balance, Leach posted that he was praying about the situation.
“Praying as if everything depends on God, which it does,” Leach said. “But working as if everything depends on us.”
After the execution was stayed, Leach and state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, issued a joint statement in which they expressed gratitude to the Texas Supreme Court.
“While some courthouses may have failed him, the Texas House has not,” the statement said. “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.”
Adrian Garcia, a Harris County commissioner, said in a statement on X that he does not know whether Roberson is guilty or not, but said ample evidence shows executing him would be a grave injustice and that the original investigation was based on faulty science. He asked Abbott to stop Roberson’s execution.
On X, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said executing Roberson would “compound an already serious miscarriage of justice.” He also called for Abbott to step in.
In a lengthy X post, state Rep. Nate Schatzline, R-Southlake, said that while he believes in the death penalty, he is opposed to the execution of Roberson. He said after taking a deep dive into the case and sitting through Wednesday’s hearing, he has “never been more convinced” that the state is about to execute a man who is potentially innocent.
“Regardless of the one document you may have read, or the posts you see on X, this case isn’t the air tight case others make it out to be,” Schatzline said. “It’s honestly not even close to being an airtight case. This is a situation where the DA from Anderson County who set the date for the death penalty couldn’t even remember the details of why the additional evidence that proves that all these claims of violence were unsubstantiated was thrown out by the court.”
Schatzline said he is not saying Roberson is innocent, but that it is not certain he is guilty. He called on Abbott to issue a 30-day pause on the execution.
U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, a Democrat from Illinois and son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, also called for an immediate stay of execution for Roberson and said there is an urgent need for a thorough review of his case, citing concerns about the fairness of the trial and the evidence used.
In a post on X, Jackson said the case raises serious questions about the integrity of America’s justice system.
“We cannot allow an execution to proceed when there are substantial doubts about the validity of the conviction,” Jackson said. “It is imperative that we ensure every individual receives a fair trial and that justice is truly served.”