
Roberson did not testify because the committee and the Texas Department of Corrections couldn't agree on the logis-tics. In November, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that a legislative subpoena couldn't halt the execution. When this issue went to press, a new execution date had not been set for Roberson. But the unusual legisla-tive intervention and the high-stakes fight among the branches of Texas' government showed major, bipartisan doubts about the integrity of the death penalty.
Roberson was convicted and sentenced to death in 2003 for murdering his 2-year-old daughter. A jury convicted him based largely on expert findings of shaken baby syndrome, which is now called abusive head trauma (AHT). Roberson claimed his daughter, who had been in and out of the emergency room in recent days because of illness, had fallen out of bed. Doctors and prosecutors said Roberson's daughter died of brain trauma caused by whiplash.
Esta historia es de la edición February 2025 de Reason magazine.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición February 2025 de Reason magazine.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar

Rise of the Samurai Lawyers
HOW A STABLE AND RELATIVELY JUST LEGAL ORDER EMERGED IN MEDIEVAL JAPAN

How Sanctions Backfire
IF THERE’S ONE part of foreign policy where President Donald Trump has been consistent, it’s economic sanctions on Iran.

How To Get Rid of a Tenured Professor
TOO OFTEN, POLITICAL ADVOCACY TRUMPS RESEARCH IN SCIENCE.

TRUMP'S DRAMATIC CROSSROADS
WILL PROTECTIONISM OR DYNAMISM SHAPE THE FUTURE OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY?

AI Isn't Destabilizing Elections
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PESSIMISTS, take note: New research suggests that fears about AI tools destabilizing elections through political misinformation may be overblown.

Trump Tests the Limits of Executive Orders
WELL BEFORE PRESIDENT Donald Trump returned to office, his supporters boasted that he would start the second term with a flurry of executive actions.

The American Right Is Abandoning Mises
THE AUSTRIAN ECONOMIST’S PRINCIPLED THOUGHT ONCE SERVED AS A CHECK ON THE INTELLECTUAL RIGHT.

Trump's War on the Press
A MONTH BEFORE last November’s presidential election, 60 Minutes aired an interview with Democratic nominee Kamala Harris that was edited to make her response to a question about Israel “more succinct,” as the show’s producers put it.

WHEN THE GOVERNMENT PUTS WOLVES IN YOUR BACKYARD
ENDANGERED RED WOLVES BECAME A SYMBOL OF FEDERAL OVERREACH-AND A TARGET FOR LOCAL IRE-IN EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA.

Biden Rushed Billions Out Before Trump Took Office
ON PRESIDENT JOE Biden’s way out the door, officials in his administration were busy—not just packing up their offices, but shoveling as much money as possible before incoming President Donald Trump could get his hands on it.