HOUSTON — With Election Day just a week away, the results could carry significant consequences for Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson.
Convicted over two decades ago for the death of his 2-year-old daughter, Roberson’s appeals are now in the hands of judges who are up for re-election in November.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has three Republican incumbents on the ballot who previously voted to allow Roberson’s execution to proceed. All three lost their primary races, meaning they’ll be replaced by newly elected judges in January.
Roberson’s attorneys hope that these incoming judges might bring a shift in court decisions, potentially providing new avenues to appeal his sentence.
If the two judges who voted for Roberson's execution and remained on the bench do not change their votes, Roberson would need only one of the newly elected judges to side with him to formally halt his execution.
However, in Texas, a state with a significant Republican lean, experts predict that it would be highly unlikely for Republican candidates for the Court of Criminal Appeals to lose their seats.
Political analyst Mark Jones points out that most Texas voters tend to vote along party lines, often with little information about judicial candidates.
“The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is a statewide election where voters have little to no information about the Democratic and Republican candidates in a state that leans Republican, meaning that unless something bizarre happens, people get into the polling place,” Jones said. “They don't know who the candidates are. They vote based primarily on their partisanship, which means that all three Republican Court of Criminal Appeals judge judicial candidates will win, and the three Democrats will lose.”
Although judicial races generally receive minimal attention, Roberson’s case could bring increased interest in these races, highlighting the potential impact of court decisions on individuals’ lives.
As for Roberson, his execution date cannot be set until mid-January at the earliest, by which time the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals will have three new judges on the bench.
For Roberson, the stakes couldn’t be higher, as these judicial shifts could open new legal pathways in his fight to avoid execution.