The attorney representing the Texas governor’s office filed an amicus brief Monday saying the petition filed by the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence last week regarding the case of death row inmate Robert Roberson should be tossed out. Roberson was convicted of murdering his 2-year-old daughter in 2003 based on evidence of shaken baby syndrome – a diagnosis many experts are now calling into question. Roberson’s appeals to the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals, the Texas Supreme Court, and the United States Supreme Court failed. After the state parole board denied his bid for clemency last week, he was set to be executed Thursday night when, minutes before the execution, lawmakers successfully subpoenaed him to appear at the State Capitol on Monday and testify before the House Committee. James Sullivan, general counsel at the governor’s office, sent a three-page letter Monday to Blake Hawthorne, the Supreme Court of Texas clerk, on behalf of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, saying the committee’s actions were “out of line.” Sullivan wrote that the subpoena granted a 90-day reprieve in the administration of the death penalty and that clemency in a capital case or granting a 30-day reprieve is a power “vested in the governor alone.” The governor’s office worried that unless the court rejected the tactic used by the committee to get a temporary restraining order to delay the execution, it could be repeated, essentially rewriting the state’s Constitution and reassigning a power only given to the governor. Sullivan wrote that if the committee wanted testimony from Roberson, it could have requested that testimony at any point before last week, saying Roberson had been convicted more than two decades ago, his last appeal was more than a year ago, and his execution was set months ago. “In all that time, even when it was clear that Roberson’s execution date was nearing and the Article 11.073 issue was manifest, the House Committee could not trouble itself with seeking Roberson’s testimony,” Sullivan wrote. “Only at the eleventh hour, when the Constitution empowers the governor to make the last move, did the House Committee decide to violate the Separation-of-Powers Clause.” Sullivan called for the petition to be dismissed for a lack of jurisdiction, saying only the governor has the power to issue a reprieve, not any branch of state government, the House Committee, a district court in Travis County, a court of appeals, or the Supreme Court of Texas. A bipartisan group of 84 Texas lawmakers urged the governor to intervene in September, calling for the execution to be halted. Since taking office in 2015, Abbott has granted clemency in only one death row case when he commuted Thomas Whitaker’s death sentence to life in prison in 2018. WHAT IS AN AMICUS BRIEF? An amicus brief, or amicus curiae, is an unsolicited statement about a case from a party not involved in the case. The brief is not legally binding but could influence a court’s decision. It’s up to the court’s discretion whether the brief will be considered. ROBERT ROBERSON Crime and Courts 19 hours ago Death row inmate in ‘shaken baby' case to face lawmakers as advocates call for acquittal Death Penalty Oct 18 His life spared for now, death row inmate Robert Roberson preparing to testify at Texas Capitol Death Penalty Oct 17 Texas Supreme Court halts execution of Robert Roberson III Crime and Courts Oct 16 Texas parole board denies clemency for man in ‘shaken baby' death Death Penalty Oct 15 Execution upheld for Texas man convicted in daughter's ‘shaken baby' death Death Penalty Sep 17 Texas lawmakers urge Gov. Abbott to halt man's execution in ‘shaken baby' case