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U.S.|Texas Supreme Court Paves Way for Execution in ‘Shaken Baby’ Case
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/15/us/texas-roberson-execution-shaken-baby.html
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Texas lawmakers exceeded their power when they intervened last month to stop the execution of Robert Roberson by summoning him to testify, the court found.
Nov. 15, 2024, 12:49 p.m. ET
Texas can go forward with the execution of Robert Roberson, who was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter in a case that relied on evidence of shaken baby syndrome, the Texas Supreme Court ruled on Friday.
Lawmakers of both parties in the Texas House, who believed Mr. Roberson deserved a new trial, had temporarily halted the execution last month by issuing a legislative subpoena for Mr. Roberson to testify before a House committee.
Such a last-minute legislative intervention in a scheduled execution had never before been attempted in Texas, and it raised novel questions about the separation of powers among branches of state government.
The Texas Supreme Court, in its 31-page decision, found that the legislative committee’s subpoena to block the execution had gone beyond the powers of the legislature.
“We conclude that under these circumstances the committee’s authority to compel testimony does not include the power to override the scheduled legal process leading to an execution,” Justice Evan Young wrote in a decision for the nine-member court, whose members are all Republicans.
A new execution date can now be set. But doing so will take at least three months, and the court said that during that time, the lawmakers can still call Mr. Roberson to testify, and that the executive branch would have to accommodate such a request.
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