Attorney General wants Roberson to testify virtually Monday; Court declines to intervene

The Texas attorney general’s office asked the state’s Supreme Court on Saturday to reconsider its unprecedented order staying the execution of Robert Roberson III so he could testify before a House Committee, in part because of “myriad security and logistical concerns” with bringing a death row inmate to the Capitol.

Sunday night, the Texas Supreme Court declined to intervene on how Roberson should be made available to testify and set deadlines for future briefs discussing the issue. Given the lack of guidance from the high court, it was not immediately clear how Roberson would testify.

In a letter obtained Saturday by The Dallas Morning News, the attorney general’s office relayed its security concerns to the committee, stating the Texas Department of Criminal Justice would make Roberson available via teleconference for the Monday hearing in accordance with department policies and “in the interest of public safety” and Roberson’s “well-being.”

Lawmakers and Roberson’s legal team previously said Roberson, a Palestine man convicted in 2003 of reportedly killing his 2-year-old daughter, would appear in person in Austin. The order presented logistical challenges for officials to accommodate a high-security prisoner and crowds likely made up of media outlets from around the country, curious spectators and protesters.

TDCJ officials said Sunday the department was working with the attorney general’s office on next steps. The department previously said it was working with lawmakers to comply with the committee’s subpoena. The attorney general’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

The lawmaker addressed in the letter, Rep. Joe Moody, the El Paso Democrat who chairs the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Gretchen Sween, one of Roberson’s attorneys, said in a letter obtained Sunday by The News that the attorney general’s office had not sought or made an agreement for Roberson to testify virtually.

Sween cited several concerns with Roberson, who is autistic, joining the hearing on Zoom, including how his disability creates “deficits in social and emotional processing” that would “profoundly” limit the committee’s ability to assess his credibility. Sween said Roberson, who is not familiar with modern technology after spending more than 20 years on death row, would be “completely handicapped” by the inability to read faces and make eye contact while testifying.

Sween also wrote Roberson poses no security threat. She referenced TDCJ approving a meeting on Sept. 27 between Roberson and a group of bipartisan lawmakers — which Roberson participated in “unshackled and without incident.”

Earlier this week, Sween said TDCJ’s director offered to assist in preparing Roberson for transfer to the Capitol and “expressed absolutely no concern about his staff’s ability to handle the process and no reluctance about working cooperatively to enable Mr. Roberson to be physically present.”

In a filing to the Texas Supreme Court, the attorney general’s office echoed its stance on security in the letter to lawmakers.

“TDCJ has made clear to the house committee that although remote participation via ‘Zoom’ is feasible, Roberson will not appear in person,” the filing asking the high court to reconsider its Thursday ruling reads. “This is due to the myriad security and logistical concerns associated with bringing a death row inmate into the Texas Capitol, which lacks a secure holding area and is not within 80 miles of a TDCJ facility capable of securely housing him.”

Security at the Capitol is handled by the Texas Department of Public Safety. A spokesperson previously declined to discuss security arrangements.

Roberson will be among several witnesses to testify at the committee hearing, state Rep. Jeff Leach, a Plano Republican and one of the architects of the Roberson subpoena, told conservative radio host Mark Davis on Friday.

The hearing will explore the state’s 2013 “junk science” law allowing people to challenge convictions with new science. Roberson’s testimony is needed to gauge how the law was applied in his case, Leach has said.

Staff writer Aarón Torres contributed to this report.