Robert Roberson to testify in front of Texas House Monday after life-saving subpoena
Death row inmate Robert Roberson is expected to testify virtually in front of Texas lawmakers on Monday.
The lawmakers' decision to subpoena Roberson played a crucial role in halting his execution just hours before it was scheduled to happen.
Roberson, 57, was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in 2002.
He took her to the emergency room in Palestine, Texas for what doctors and police thought was a condition called shaken baby syndrome.
More recent science has undermined other shaken baby syndrome cases.
He was scheduled for execution on Thursday, but a Texas House Committee called Roberson to share his story in his own words.
"We have all come together. With the stark realization that this is a failure of our criminal justice system," said State Rep. Brian Harrison (R-Waxahachie). "This is probably the biggest bipartisan initiative that I've been part of since getting elected to the Texas legislature."
Harrison and the House committee heard testimony from medical professionals and the former lead detective on the case in 2002, who believe Nikki likely died from natural causes – possibly undiagnosed pneumonia.
Texas’ junk science law is getting another look over Robert Roberson’s case
A 2013 law allows a person convicted of a crime to seek relief if the evidence used against them is no longer credible.
A big point of discussion was why the courts did not overturn Roberson's conviction when state law explicitly addresses cases like this.
The junk science law was enacted in Texas in 2013. No one facing execution has had their sentence overturned by the law, according to a report by civil rights group Texas Defender Service.
"I now, after that hearing especially, have grave concerns. And I think that every member, Republican and Democrat of the Criminal Jurisprudence Committee share this concern that our laws might be being so egregiously discarded by the courts that it might result in a potentially innocent person being put to death," said Harrison.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Roberson's request for clemency.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals also denied his request to stay his execution.
The bipartisan committee unanimously supporters Roberson's case and made a last-ditch effort to pause the execution by deciding to subpoena Roberson to give his own testimony.
The effort was successful and the Texas Supreme Court stayed his execution.
"We cannot get matters of life and death wrong, and as a as a very conservative member of the Texas House, I know that governments get things wrong all the time, but if we're going to put someone to death, that is one decision and one action. It's irreversible and we cannot get it wrong," Harrison said.
Texas’ junk science law was the first of its kind in 2013 and a model for other states across the country, according to legal experts. California, Connecticut, Michigan, Nevada and Wyoming have similar "junk science" statutes, but it has not been studied how successful they are at overturning death penalty convictions.
Harrison also told FOX 4 that believes Roberson deserves a new trial.
The House committee hearing is set to begin Monday at noon.