Robert Roberson plans to testify before Texas lawmakers just days after they saved him from execution

Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson is scheduled to testify before the House Criminal Justice Committee in Austin on Monday at noon. However, it is unclear whether Robertson will appear virtually or in person.

Roberson was scheduled to be executed Thursday, but an unprecedented legal move — a subpoena from the Texas House of Representatives — saved him from the lethal injection.

Lawmakers are investigating why the state’s junk science law wasn’t used in the case of Roberson and other people on death row.

Lawmakers say Roberson’s testimony is key to understanding the problems with failed trials when death sentences are sought based on outdated scientific evidence.

“More than a decade ago, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill 344, allowing challenges to convictions based on refuted or incomplete scientific evidence,” said a letter from 86 bipartisan House members. “This bill passed with unanimous support from the Texas House of Representatives because we recognize that innocent people are sometimes wrongfully convicted based on scientific evidence that later turns out to be false.”

Attorney General Ken Paxton argued that Roberson should testify remotely because bringing the death row inmate to the Capitol would be too dangerous.

But Roberson’s attorney, Gretchen Sween, said because he has autism and has been in solitary confinement for more than 20 years, he won’t be able to communicate effectively over a Zoom link.

“Requiring Robert to communicate via Zoom would undoubtedly hinder him and defeat the purpose of the hearing … which allows the committee to hear from him, see him, ‘testify’ to him and assess his credibility,” said Sween in a statement. “He wants to come to the Texas Capitol to finally be heard in person – even if he has to wear his shackles and chains.”

Roberson was convicted in the 2002 death of his daughter, who was believed to have died as a result of violent shocks. However, it later emerged that she had probably died of pneumonia. It was also discovered that symptoms of Roberson’s autism were used against him in the investigation. The courts never considered this new evidence.

“For over 20 years, Robert Roberson has spent 23.5 hours every day in solitary confinement in a cell no bigger than most Texans’ closets, longing to be heard. And while some courthouses may have failed him, the Texas House has not,” Texas Reps. Jeff Leach (R-Plano) and Joe Moody (D-El Paso) said in a joint statement.

In their subpoena of Roberson last week, lawmakers raised a separation of powers issue between them and the Abbott administration, which wants to execute Roberson.

A Travis County judge issued a temporary restraining order, stopping Roberson’s execution just 90 minutes before it was due to take place to allow the subpoena to be carried out. But the Texas Attorney General’s Office immediately appealed and the TRO was overturned by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

With time almost up, the lawmakers appealed to the Texas Supreme Court, which found that the subpoena issue was a civil matter requiring resolution in the lower courts and issued a stay, allowing the Witness testimony could take place on Monday.

“We are deeply grateful to the Texas Supreme Court for respecting the role of the Texas legislature in such important matters,” Leach and Moody said. “We look forward to welcoming Robert to the Texas Capitol and finally giving him – and the truth – a chance to be heard, along with 31 million Texans.”