Watch Live: Robert Roberson testifies before Texas lawmakers after his execution was halted

October 21

Texas lawmakers are expected to hear testimony at the state Capitol on Monday from Robert Roberson, a death row inmate whose execution was temporarily called off last week.

Roberson, 57, had been scheduled to die by lethal injection Thursday for the killing of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in 2002. But as scientific developments in recent years called into question fundamental aspects of his case and conviction, authorities started to question his guilt. Roberson was convicted of capital murder in his daughter’s death from shaken baby syndrome, a condition once used as evidence of child abuse that experts now consider outdated and too vague to support a criminal charge.

Evolutions in how scientific and medical communities understand the syndrome and its symptoms have led to at least a dozen exonerations in the United States over the last couple of decades. But prosecutors and the courts argue there is evidence of Roberson’s guilt outside of Curtis’ diagnosis, even as the lead investigator who helped convict him of murder has openly proclaimed the man’s innocence and acknowledged his office’s own errors judging Roberson’s behavior before learning of his autism.

Roberson maintains he did not kill his daughter. He would be the first person in the U.S. put to death for a conviction linked to shaken baby syndrome if his execution ends up moving forward.

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Dani Allen, center left with microphone, an anti-death penalty advocate, speaks during a protest outside the prison where Robert Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas.

Michael Wyke / AP

Hours before it was set to take place Thursday, a Travis County judge granted a temporary restraining order to pause the procedure, so that he would be able to testify before a bipartisan group of state lawmakers on the Texas House Criminal Justice Committee. The committee had one night earlier subpoenaed Roberson to give testimony at the hearing, which will address “criminal procedure related to capital punishment” and a landmark “junk science” law that should allow Texas inmates to appeal their convictions when the scientific or forensic evidence used to convict them has been debunked or determined unreliable.

The subpoena came on the heels of a recommendation by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles earlier in the day denying Roberson’s request for clemency, effectively preventing Gov. Greg Abbott from granting clemency without the court’s intervention. Abbott could still delay the execution by 30 days through an executive reprieve.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the county judge’s temporary restraining order. Then, as the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request for a stay of Roberson’s execution — with Justice Sonia Sotomayor writing in her ruling that the “Supreme Court is powerless to act without a colorable federal claim” — the Texas Supreme Court halted the execution. Its eleventh-hour decision granted a civil appeal filed by Roberson’s attorneys and state lawmakers.

“Whether the legislature may use its authority to compel the attendance of witnesses to block the executive branch’s authority to enforce a sentence of death is a question of Texas civil law, not its criminal law,” Texas Supreme Court Justice Evan Young said in his opinion.

How to watch Robert Roberson’s testimony

What: Death row inmate Robert Roberson is expected to give testimony before the Texas House Criminal Justice Committee.
Date: Monday, Oct. 21, 2024
Time: 1 p.m. EDT
Location: The Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas.
Online stream: Live on CBS News Texas in the player above and on your mobile or streaming device.

Emily Mae Czachor

Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She covers breaking news, often focusing on crime and extreme weather. Emily Mae has previously written for outlets including the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.

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