Texas withdraws request to block U.S. Justice Department from monitoring state’s elections
The federal agency agreed their monitors would remain outside polling locations and wouldn’t interfere with voting. Full Story
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Kayla Guo is an Austin-based general assignment reporter. She previously covered the U.S. Congress for The New York Times as a reporting fellow based in Washington, D.C. Kayla has also covered transportation policy for Politico and local news for The Raleigh News & Observer, and she was a part-time digital producer for The Boston Globe. She graduated in 2022 from Brown University, where she studied public policy and served as editor-in-chief and president of the independent student newspaper. She was born and raised on Long Island, New York.
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![Voters check in to vote at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center in Houston, Tuesday Nov. 8, 2022.]()
Credit: Michael Stravato for The Texas Tribune -
There are warring depictions of Robert Roberson’s murder case. Here’s what to know.
Even before the Texas man’s death sentence became a political lightning rod, law enforcement and medical experts had differing opinions on the evidence that convicted him. Full Story
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![Robert Roberson photographed through plexiglass at TDCJ Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023. Texas death row prisoners are housed in Livingston but executed at the state prison in Huntsville, about 43 miles away.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Innocence Project -
Ken Paxton calls on Rep. Jeff Leach to resign over texts to judge in Robert Roberson case
The AG also said he’d make a criminal referral against the lawmaker, who apologized for texting a Court of Criminal Appeals judge about a new trial for the death row inmate. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
State Rep. Jeff Leach asked Texas judge to consider a new Robert Roberson trial in apparent conduct violation
Leach, one of the driving forces behind the effort to stop Roberson’s execution, later apologized to the judge, who told the lawmaker there were still pending matters before the court. Full Story
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![From left: State Reps. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, and Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, listen to a testimony during a Criminal Jurisprudence hearing on death row inmate Robert Roberson on Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in Austin.]()
Credit: Sergio Flores for The Texas Tribune -
Ken Paxton and Texas House members accuse each other of mischaracterizing Robert Roberson’s case
After the attorney general insisted on the death row inmate’s guilt in a graphic press release, four lawmakers issued a point-by-point rebuttal. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Texas sues Biden administration for not providing data on noncitizens
Attorney General Ken Paxton accused the federal government of failing to provide citizenship data for registered voters, even as he acknowledged that the vast majority of the people on the rolls are lawful voters. Full Story
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![Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during the Texas GOP Convention Thursday, May 23, 2024 in San Antonio.]()
Credit: Eli Hartman/The Texas Tribune -
Robert Roberson juror says new evidence would have prevented his conviction in shaken baby case
The death row inmate was expected to testify before a Texas House committee, but those plans were scrapped amid a dispute over whether he should appear in person or virtually. Full Story
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![Robert Roberson photographed through plexiglass at TDCJ Polunsky Unit in Livingston on Dec. 19, 2023. Texas death row prisoners are housed in Livingston but executed at the state prison in Huntsville, about 43 miles away.]()
Credit: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Innocence Project -
A legal battle spared Robert Roberson’s life, for now. Here’s what happens next.
The effort to spare Roberson sparked a conflict between the executive and legislative branches that must be resolved. When it is, the death row inmate will likely be back on the path to execution. Full Story
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![Robert Roberson seeks a new trial for the 2003 conviction of the murder of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis. His attorneys are asking for a new trial based on new findings they say debunk the flawed science presented in the original trial.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
With little say over Robert Roberson’s fate, Texas lawmakers take extraordinary steps to buy him more time
With Roberson’s options dwindling, a House panel used its bully pulpit to prove his case and excoriate the failures of the state’s junk science law. Full Story
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![Robert Roberson seeks a new trial for the 2003 conviction of the murder of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis in Palestine on Aug. 14, 2018. His attorneys are asking for a new trial based on new findings they say debunk the flawed science presented in the original trial.]()
Credit: Shelby Knowles for The Texas Tribune -
Texas Supreme Court temporarily stops Robert Roberson’s execution
The state’s highest civil court said it wants a lower court to resolve a separation-of-powers issue raised by a group of Texas lawmakers who subpoenaed the death row inmate the night before he was set to be put to death. Full Story
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![Jennifer Roberson (center), sister-in-law of Robert Roberson, is comforted after speaking outside of the Huntsville Unit in Huntsville. Opponents of the death penalty and prison personnel alike waited into the night for word on whether Roberson would be executed.]()
Credit: Mark Felix for the Texas Tribunne