AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas man set to die this month is at the center of a new push for clemency in the U.S., this time backed by several Republican lawmakers and best-selling author John Grisham, who say the conviction of a father in 2002 for the murder of his father’s daughter deserves a second look.
Their plea to spare Robert Roberson, who is set to die by lethal injection on Oct. 17, comes after Missouri and Oklahoma carried out executions last month in response to calls for two convicted men to be given lesser sentences, underscoring how rare clemency remains for prisoners sentenced to death.
The cases highlight one of a governor’s most extraordinary powers: authorizing an execution. In Texas, the state parole board and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott have not yet ruled on Roberson, whose defenders say he was convicted based on flawed scientific evidence.
In Missouri, the September 24 execution of Marcellus Williams reignited calls for transparency in the decision-making process after a prosecutor and the victim’s family urged Republican Governor Mike Parson to reduce the sentence. Parson said multiple courts had found no merit in Williams’ innocence claims.
“Death penalty cases are among the most difficult issues we must tackle in the governor’s office, but when push comes to shove, I follow the law and trust the integrity of our justice system,” Parson said in a statement before Williams’ execution. .
Mercy is rare
Clemency is the process that allows a governor, president or independent government to reduce the sentence of a person convicted of a crime. In most states, a state board recommends clemency to the governor before it can be approved.
Clemenses are typically a last-ditch effort by death row suspects to reduce their sentences after all other efforts in the legal system have failed.
Historically, pardons are rare. Aside from some massive orders from governors to commute all death sentences in their states, an average of fewer than two have been handed down each year since then, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
Executions in Oklahoma, Missouri
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt rejected a recommendation from the state parole board to spare Emmanuel Littlejohn’s life before he was executed. In a 3-2 vote, the board appeared convinced by Littlejohn’s attorneys, who questioned whether he or a co-defendant was responsible for the 1992 murder of a store owner.
Stitt — who has granted clemency just once out of five times the board has recommended it during his nearly six years in office — said in a statement that he rejected a jury’s decision to execute Littlejohn “as a governor of the law.” didn’t want to undo. .”
In Missouri, Williams’ execution last month followed public outcry from the victim’s family and prosecutors in a historic week of five executions in a span of seven days.
It is unclear whether the Missouri Parole Board, which makes confidential recommendations to the governor on clemency requests, has advocated for Williams’ execution. Williams’ lawyers said that data should be public.
“Transparency is a hallmark of democracy, and it is woefully lacking here,” they said in a statement.
Governors usually weigh a number of things when deciding whether to commute a sentence, including the seriousness of a crime or whether they are remorseful, said Dale Baich, a law professor at Arizona State University, an attorney who has represented people who have had sex crimes. face execution.
But Baich also suspects that other factors may play a role. “I think it all comes down to politics,” Baich said.
Some Texas lawmakers are pushing for a pause
Eighty-six state representatives — as well as medical experts, death penalty attorneys, a former detective on the case and Grisham — support Roberson because they believe his conviction was based on flawed scientific evidence.
Roberson was sentenced to death for killing his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in 2002. Prosecutors alleged he violently shook her to death because of so-called shaken baby syndrome. In a letter sent to the board last month, medical professionals claimed Curtis’ injuries were related to pneumonia and not shaken baby syndrome.
Prosecutors have argued that the science of shaken baby syndrome has not changed significantly since Roberson’s conviction and that the evidence against him still holds up.
“We want our justice system to work. And I think Texans deserve to know that when a man is executed, it’s right and he’s guilty,” said Rep. Lacey Hull, a Houston Republican who is one of 30 Republican Party representatives to support the clemency for Roberson. , said last week after she and other lawmakers visited Roberson in prison: “And if there is even a shadow of a doubt that he is innocent, we should not execute him.”
Some Republicans see Roberson’s case as a parental rights issue over what safeguards should be put in place to prevent parents from being falsely accused of child abuse.
Abbott can only grant clemency after receiving a recommendation from the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole. In nearly a decade as governor, he commuted a death sentence only once.
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Ballentine reported from Jefferson City, Missouri. Associated Press writer Juan A. Lozano in Houston contributed to this report.
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Lathan is a staff member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
