Ken Paxton files motion for protective order to prevent Robert Roberson from testifying

To stop Robert Roberson from testifying at the State Capitol on Friday, the Office of the Attorney General submitted an application for a protective order. The attorney general’s office claims that the motion’s filing exempts the Texas Department of Criminal Justice from fulfilling the subpoena while the matter is being heard and decided. “In addition to presenting serious security risks, the subpoena is procedurally defective and therefore invalid as it was issued in violation of the House Rules, the Texas Constitution, and other applicable laws,” said the attorney general’s office.

On Friday, December 20, Texas lawmakers subpoenaed death row convict Robert Roberson to testify in the State Capitol. Robert Roberson, a death row inmate, was subpoenaed by Texas lawmakers on December 17 to testify on Friday, December 20, in the state capitol. The subpoena came after the Texas Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers may still demand testimony before to the execution, even though they could not stop it. Robert Roberson, a death row convict, did not appear for a hearing on Monday. The House Jurisprudence Committee subpoenaed Roberson to halt his scheduled execution last week.

The Background: In 2002, Roberson, then 58, was found guilty of the murder of his 2-year-old daughter in Palestine, Texas. He brought her to the ER because she had a high fever, and the doctors there concluded that she had shaken infant syndrome. Roberson’s lawyers have disputed that diagnosis, referring to it as “crap” science.

According to them, Nikki passed away naturally, most likely from untreated pneumonia. The chief investigator in the case and a group of senators have contended that the science underlying Roberson’s death sentence is flawed. The day before Roberson’s scheduled execution on October 17, the committee subpoenaed the death row convict to testify at a hearing regarding his case. In order to consider the committee’s request, the Supreme Court postponed the execution that evening.

Subsequently, the Supreme Court decided that a subpoena could force a witness to testify if there was no imminent execution, but it could not stop a future execution. Lawmakers have come under fire from some of the 2-year-old’s family members for postponing Roberson’s execution. National attention has been drawn to the case, and during hearings, Dr. Phil and author John Grisham.