极速赛车

Texas lawmakers issued a subpoena to a man convicted based on a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome, marking their second attempt to hear his testimony at a House committee meeting on the state's so-called Junk Science Law.

The subpoena to Robert Leslie Roberson III was issued Dec. 10 and served Monday, according to a copy of the document shared by Roberson's defense attorney. It orders him to appear before the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence on Friday at 2 p.m., though lawmakers said in a press release that he was ordered to appear by noon.

Roberson was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter in 2002 and sentenced to death the next year after doctors and a medical examiner found she had internal injuries caused by what is known as shaken baby syndrome, which is caused by violently shaking a child.

Monday's subpoena comes just over a month after the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the bipartisan group of legislators couldn't use its committee's subpoena power to halt Roberson's execution, originally scheduled for Oct. 17. While the timing of the first subpoena, which was issued Oct. 16, seemed intended to halt Roberson's death, committee Chair Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, previously told 极速赛车 that Texas House rules require a five-day notice for all hearings, meaning Roberson could not have been called to testify until after his execution date.

Roberson's case has garnered national attention as he's pushed to toss his conviction. The state's Junk Science Law gives defendants a pathway to challenge their convictions based on debunked scientific research, and Roberson has alleged that expert testimony used to convict him has since been discredited and that new science surrounding abusive head trauma and new evidence from his daughter's autopsy report warrants another examination of his case.

"Robert is eager to testify and grateful for the chance to be heard," Gretchen Sween, Roberson's attorney, said in a statement Tuesday. "We will do all we can to cooperate, and I profoundly hope that his ability to appear is not obstructed by those who, for whatever reason, do not want the lawmakers and the public to hear from him directly about his experience trying to communicate his innocence."

In a press release announcing the decision, Moody and Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, said Roberson's testimony "will shed important light on some of the problems with our 'junk science writ' process."

"His perspective will be especially valuable as a person on the autism spectrum whose neurodivergence profoundly influenced both his case and his access to justice on appeal, including through writs," the press release said.

--Editing by Rich Mills.