Non-critical thinkers may be puzzled. Why, in the face of overwhelming evidence that the case needs a full review if not a new trial, are GOP stalwarts so bent on killing Roberson? What all of us must understand is that this case is another form of intimidation from the far right. The advocates for executing Roberson want to send the message that the far right Republicans in charge of the state can find a legal way to kill anyone it chooses. Remember that old saw: “With the right prosecutor, a grand jury can indict a ham sandwich?”
Take note that those leading the stampede into the death chamber include Paxton, the clearly corrupt Texas attorney general, and Abbott, the governor who touts his devotion to Roman Catholicism except when the church talks of justice and the death penalty. But it’s also the Texas judiciary and the Abbott-appointed Pardons and Parole Board turning deaf ears to modern science and the facts of the case.
The Innocence Project, a leader in exonerating condemned inmates, is among those calling for restraint and revisiting the case in full. Allies in this quest include a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers on the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence who succeeded in forcing a stay for Roberson’s scheduled October 17 execution.
What is important at this moment is to understand this part of the Texas political ecosystem is up for election on Nov. 5. To keep the far right officials in power is to risk the lives of those who would disagree with their dystopian and violence-fueled agenda. To vote to replace them with officials who are Democrats can turn the tide and redirect Texas to a more compassionate and rational place to live.
