A House committee’s effort to have a convicted child-killer testify has been thwarted once again by Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The case in question concerns Robert Roberson, who was convicted of killing his two-year-old daughter, Nikki, in 2002 in Palestine, Texas.
In October, moments before his scheduled execution, the Texas Supreme Court issued a temporary stay after members of the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, led by Democrat State Rep. Joe Moody, issued a subpoena for Roberson to appear before it.
That move drew sharp criticism from many Republicans, including Gov. Greg Abbott, who said the committee “stepped out of line” by issuing the subpoena at the eleventh hour.
The Texas Supreme Court later ruled that the maneuver violated the separation of powers.
“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. We do not repudiate legislative investigatory power, but any testimony relevant to a legislative task here could have been obtained long before the death warrant was issued—or even afterwards, but before the execution,” the opinion stated.
This week, the committee attempted to schedule another hearing with Roberson as invited testimony. However, a motion for a protective order filed by Paxton blocked those plans, at least for now.
“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,” read a statement from the Office of the Attorney General.
Paxton’s office referred to the committee’s plan as a “show hearing” and is seeking to block testimony until January 13, when the committee is disbanded ahead of the next legislative session.
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