AILSA CHANG, HOST:
And today in Texas, state lawmakers wanted to hear from death row inmate, Robert Roberson, whose life was spared last week just 90 minutes before his execution. Lawmakers held a hearing today about a Texas law that prohibits the use of so-called junk science in court cases. But Roberson was not part of the hearing. Blaise Gainey, with The Texas Newsroom, has been covering all of this and joins us now from Austin. Hi, Blaise.
BLAISE GAINEY, BYLINE: Hi. Thanks. Thanks for having me.
CHANG: Well, thanks for being with us. Wait, so lawmakers said they wanted Roberson to testify at this hearing. So why didn't he?
GAINEY: They may still hear from him, but signs are it won't be today. While the request was made for Roberson to speak to lawmakers in person, Attorney General Ken Paxton's office said that Roberson would not be transported to the Texas State Capitol. Roberson's attorneys said that in person was preferred because their client suffers from autism and trying to give testimony virtually could make it rough. The chair of the committee, Representative Joe Moody, said they are in talks with the AG's office to find a way to make sure they can hear from Roberson on this matter. Here's what he said today.
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JOE MOODY: There's been a lot of discussion about videoconferencing Robert in today. I believe that that'd be perfectly reasonable for most inmate witnesses. But Robert is a person with autism who has significant communication challenges, which was a core issue that impacted him at every stage of our justice system.
GAINEY: So they still haven’t heard from him today and it’s not sure if they’ll be able to schedule at a later date.
CHANG: Well, this hearing, I mean, is focused on a Texas law that prohibits the use of junk science. And I understand there's a question on whether junk science was used in this case, right? Did lawmakers make any headway on that?
GAINEY: For background, Roberson was convicted in the 2002 death of his daughter. It was thought she died from being violently shaken. However, it was later discovered that she likely died from pneumonia. So lawmakers are trying to see if the law that says when new scientific evidence comes out, it needs to be taken into account, was applied correctly in Roberson's case. And if not, why not? So what they can make sure, in the future, that it'll work in other cases. But I'm not sure if they'll be able to make it apply to Roberson's case.
CHANG: Well, who else are lawmakers hearing from? And I guess the real question is, will their findings even affect this case at all?
GAINEY: Yeah. I think it'll have a slim chance of affecting his case. The governor and AG seems set on making sure that the execution happens. In fact, Governor Greg Abbott's general counsel filed an amicus brief last night, citing that only the governor can legally delay an execution in Texas. Now, one of the witnesses today was Dr. Phil, the TV personality. He is involved with the Innocence Project and said he has met Roberson. He said the science used to convict him was wrong, and when he was asked whether he thinks a new trial would not result in a capital murder conviction, here's what he said.
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PHIL MCGRAW: I think this is a case where there was no crime committed. I don't think we have the wrong person. I don't think a crime was committed.
CHANG: This is so interesting. OK, so what is next in this case?
GAINEY: As for the junk science law, lawmakers will likely look into this during the upcoming session in January. As for Mr. Roberson, it's unclear if this, at all, will be able to help him avoid being put to death.
CHANG: That is Blaise Gainey with The Texas Newsroom, a collaboration between Texas Public Radio stations and NPR. Thank you so much, Blaise.
GAINEY: Thank you.
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