Texas death row case gives Robert Roberson new grounds for evidentiary hearing

Filings obtained by The Dallas Morning News cite Melissa Lucio’s recent case proceedings as a consequence of moving forward without an evidentiary hearing.

Nearly a year after Robert Roberson’s last stay of execution, his attorneys are using another death row inmate’s case as grounds to again press a Texas judge for an evidentiary hearing.

In court documents obtained Monday by The Dallas Morning News, Roberson’s lead attorney Gretchen Sween asked Smith County District Judge Austin Reeves Jackson to schedule a date “as soon as possible.” Sween cited the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals decision late last month in the case of Melissa Lucio, arguing it makes the need for live testimony and further fact-finding especially urgent.

The state’s highest criminal court rejected Lucio’s bid for relief on Sept. 24 — nearly two years after the trial judge declared her “actually innocent” and recommended her conviction be overturned. The appellate court’s decision repeatedly noted that Lucio had not presented witnesses in a live evidentiary hearing after her case was sent back for further factual development.

Unlike a routine hearing, an evidentiary allows both sides to present evidence and question witnesses in front of a judge who decides whether further legal action is warranted.

Click here to read more on this report from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.