Texas Supreme Court favors execution after lawmakers’ last-minute subpoena attempt fails

On Friday, the Texas Supreme Court determined that a legislative subpoena cannot halt an execution, following a situation last month where both Republican and Democratic lawmakers attempted to use this unusual tactic to delay the lethal injection of Robert Roberson at the last possible moment.

Roberson’s execution was set for October 17, 2023, when lawmakers made a last-minute move to issue a subpoena requiring him to testify at the Texas Capitol just days before he was scheduled to die.

This situation created a legal conflict between the state’s civil and criminal court systems, eventually resulting in a temporary ruling from the Texas Supreme Court that appeared to favor Roberson.

Roberson, who received the death penalty in 2003 for the murder of his 2-year-old daughter, has garnered bipartisan backing from lawmakers and health professionals. They argue that his conviction was based on questionable evidence pertaining to a diagnosis of “shaken baby syndrome.” If carried out, Roberson’s execution will mark him as the first individual in the United States to be executed under charges related to shaken baby syndrome.