SocraticGadfly: Robert Roberson gets justice for now at least

October 22, 2024

Robert Roberson gets justice for now at least

When Texas state House Republicans are the people intervening to prevent a likely innocent man from being executed, it's a big deal.

And it is, not just for Roberson, but for junk science and justice issues in Texas, right as early voting starts.

The Texas Legislature's law on junk science in the criminal system is now 11 years old. It's clear that appeals courts have a spotty record in following the law, and that — shock me — the Court of Criminal Appeals' record is abysmal. Ditto for the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, not elected, but appointed by the gov, which means Strangeabbott, rather than his usual Jesuitical posturing in such cases, could appoint better board members.

(I find it "interesting" that, even with the elections angle on the CCA, Charles Kuffner at Off the Kuff has yet to write in depth on this. He did post a Law Dork link in this week's Progressives Roundup, which I edited out because I'm writing this and because Chris Geidner.) 

Speaking of the CCA, the Trib reminds us that three of the five judges who voted against Roberson, including the odious Sharon Keller, got primaried because of Ken Paxton, and lost. If one of their three replacements flips, we have a different story.

And, the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence has apparently had it. Besides subpoenaing Roberson to block his execution, which worked, it has indicated it plans next year to amend the 2013 law to put more teeth into it.

One suggestion? Subpoena current CCA and Board of Pardons and Paroles members while you're at it.

That didn't happen, and because the Hail Mary worked for now, Roberson didn't speak yesterday. But, wingnut lite Phil McGraw and John Grisham did

Why wasn't Roberson there himself? Because AG Kenny Boy Paxton, of course:

Paxton said over the weekend it was too dangerous to bring the death row inmate to the Capitol. Instead, Paxton said he would have to testify via Zoom. 
In a letter to the House committee Saturday, Roberson’s attorney Gretchen Sween said Roberson wouldn’t be able to communicate effectively over video because he is autistic and is unfamiliar with modern technology, having been in prison for more than 20 years. 
The committee agreed with Sween and was working on an arrangement to have Roberson appear at a later date, according to committee chair Joe Moody, D-El Paso 
“That doesn't mean Robert won't testify at all,” Moody said. “In the spirit of cooperation, we are in talks with the attorney general's office right now about ways their position can be addressed while allowing our committee to hear Robert in person.”

What a shithead. But, I'm not shocked and I hope you're not, either. Disgusted is fine. And, if Kenny Boy tells you "no," Joe? Do you all go to his prison cell?? And if TDCJ Executive Director Brian Collier says you can't all do that at once??

As for the state constitutional issue? From the same story link immediately above, this:

In his comments ahead of the hearing, Rep. Brian Harrison, a North Texas Republican, said the House committee is well within its rights to subpoena Roberson and conduct a hearing. 
“If the House of Representatives cannot exercise legislative oversight to make sure that our laws are not just being faithfully adhered to, but that they are not potentially being so egregiously violated that it may result in the life of a potentially innocent person being taken by the government, then I would posit there may be no matter that could be subject to legitimate legislative oversight,” he said.

That district court hearing is going to be fun as hell.

Speaking of that board, Pardons and Paroles? The man who appoints its members, Gov. Strangeabbott, has broken last week's silence for the explicit purpose of excoriating the House committee. Abbott used the vehicle of an amicus brief in the case now back in the Travis district court where it began. And, the amicus was ONLY about the separation of powers issue, saying the committee "stepped out of line."

Meanwhile, per the "reminds" link, it takes 90 days after a prosecutor's request for the state to set a new execution date for Roberson. The state Supreme Court's remand to the trial court to address the constitutional issues will have played out by then, as will the election, and if we go the full 90 days, so will the seating of the new judges and the new legislature. More here, including a note that a month ago, the CCA had one "flipper" in its current numbers, and overturned the life sentence of a DeSoto man on shaken baby issues. Beyond that, per the court case? Let us note that the subpoena stands valid, as of now, through the end of the 2025 legislative season.

The Observer, before Roberson's reprieve, also weighed in on the current CCA elections and primarying, but added a look at Keller and how her two decades as presiding judge framed today's CCA.

What is shaken baby syndrome and is it misused? In this piece, the Trib notes that the doctor who originated the idea has largely disavowed it, even while the American Academy of Pediatrics has not only dug in, but expanded its version of the definition.

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Interestingly, the new-look, paywalled Texas Monthly has no reporting of its own, but just copies Trib stories.

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