Robert Roberson’s dying sentence has turn into a circus, with ugly acts taking part in concurrently in three distinctly American rings. Within the middle are Texas politicians battling each other for energy to finish or protect Roberson’s life. In a facet ring, celebrities weigh in on whether or not the condemned man may be telling the reality about his younger daughter’s dying, and in one other, medical consultants debate the credibility of shaken child syndrome and the that means of the autism spectrum.
It has the sensation of an 18th century public hanging, full with gawking crowds. And sure, information shops providing commentary. We’re all gamers in essentially the most horrific present on Earth. All due to the dying penalty.
That’s no knock on the members, Republican and Democrat, of the Texas Home Felony Jurisprudence Committee who successfully halted Roberson’s scheduled Oct. 17 execution with a last-minute subpoena for him to testify about his case. It was an odd but artistic and heroic transfer, blocking the killing not less than quickly, and forcing debate over the Texas legal guidelines and procedures that led to Roberson’s 2003 conviction and dying sentence for supposedly murdering his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis. At trial, prosecutors introduced medical testimony that the lady’s accidents may solely be the results of “shaken child syndrome,” by which a younger little one is injured or dies from blunt pressure trauma induced by abuse.
Roberson could be the primary particular person to be executed based mostly on the prognosis simply as it’s falling into disrepute.
Upfront of Monday’s listening to, Roberson’s life turned the topic of a horrendous political tug-of-war. Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton denied the lawmakers’ try to carry Roberson to the state Capitol. Gov. Greg Abbott informed the Texas Supreme Court docket that the subpoena violated his govt purview. The courtroom stayed the execution to resolve the elected officers’ territorial dispute.
In Texas’ uncommon judicial system, the Supreme Court docket handles solely civil issues. A second, co-equal excessive courtroom — the Texas Court docket of Felony Appeals — had beforehand denied Roberson’s request to postpone his execution, placing the 2 courts at odds. Every courtroom has 9 judges who run for workplace in partisan elections by which they align with political events. All are Republican.
Complicating and politicizing issues additional is that three of the Court docket of Felony Appeals judges who rejected Roberson’s requests for a keep are lame geese, having been defeated for reelection within the main earlier this 12 months after a marketing campaign in opposition to them by Paxton’s political machine. The lawyer basic was sad that they’d blocked him, two years earlier, from prosecuting a number of extremely questionable voter fraud circumstances.
Voters are at present electing judges who may scrap the execution, or reschedule it.
Roberson’s place is almost unimaginable. Together with his execution simply hours away, he was known as to Austin to argue for his life, not in courtroom with skilled attorneys addressing judges or jurors on his behalf, however by himself, in entrance of politicians who would intently scrutinize his presentation.
Paxton blocked Roberson’s look on the listening to.
Roberson is autistic, which can make it tough for him to know the reactions and feelings of others. And vice versa. Even when he’s not finally put to dying, his punishment has been merciless and weird as these phrases are generally understood, if not as interpreted by courts that parse the that means of the eighth Modification. If he’s harmless, in fact, the greater than twenty years he has spent in jail and the final 12 months of entanglement in state political and ideological disputes is worse than merciless. It’s a deep stain on the administration of justice.
Phil McGraw, also called tv’s Dr. Phil, testified on Roberson’s behalf in his absence. So did John Grisham, lawyer, former member of the Mississippi Home of Representatives and creator of quite a few authorized thrillers which have been become fashionable movies, together with “The Pelican Transient,” “The Agency” and “The Rainmaker.” They argued that Roberson didn’t obtain a good trial and deserves a brand new one.
Involvement of celebrities provides to the circus-like ambiance, but McGraw and Grisham are, just like the Texas lawmakers, heroes for sticking their necks out in pursuit of justice that they’ve good purpose to consider was denied by the system.
McGraw famous that he doesn’t oppose the dying penalty.
“The dying penalty hangs within the steadiness right here as a result of if we get this unsuitable in a case like this, I feel the dying penalty may come below actual assault,” he stated.
But the dying penalty deserves to return below assault. Maybe it’s ironic that imminent execution was the one factor that mobilized so many to return to Roberson’s protection. However that’s no credit score to the dying penalty. It’s as an alternative a criticism of a authorized system that issues itself extra with punishment and finality than with fact and equity.
Almost each developed and democratic nation has abolished the dying penalty, apart from Japan, Singapore, Taiwan — and the US.
Even right here, a majority of states have both abolished it or, as within the case of California, merely stopped executing folks whereas leaving the punishment on the books.
Killing folks, whether or not responsible or harmless, is an abuse of state energy that shouldn’t be tolerated in a free and democratic society. Ending this circus means greater than permitting Roberson to reside for one more few months. It means placing an finish to the dying penalty and recommitting ourselves to justice, mercy and fact.
