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Michelle Pitcher @michellepitcher.bsky.social · 1d

Context: www.texasobserver.org/robert-rober...

‘I Got a Lot of People Believing in Me’: Robert Roberson Stares Down Death, Again

Set to be the first U.S. person executed based on the controversial “Shaken Baby Syndrome” diagnosis, Roberson told the Observer last week he hopes his story will mean something.

www.texasobserver.org

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Michelle Pitcher @michellepitcher.bsky.social · 1d

The decision came after the CCA granted relief in the Andrew Roark case—which was strikingly similar to Roberson’s—last October.

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Michelle Pitcher @michellepitcher.bsky.social · 1d

The Court of Criminal Appeals has stayed Robert Roberson’s execution, sending his case back to a lower court for reconsideration. He was scheduled to be executed in less than a week.

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Michelle Pitcher @michellepitcher.bsky.social · 16d

Robert Roberson's attorney Gretchen Sween will not petition for clemency ahead of his scheduled Oct. 16 execution. "A quest for clemency would not right the wrong...It would only divert precious time and resources from the fundamental mission: obtaining a new trial for Robert at long last."

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Reposted by Michelle Pitcher

Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · Sep 5

New @michellepitcher.bsky.social: Efforts to limit police transparency by shielding some complaints from public view have failed multiple times during the 2025 legislative season—most recently in the form of House Bill 15, which died this week.

Police ‘Secrecy Grab’ Dies After Senate Refuses Uvalde Compromise

"We’re hopeful that it means it doesn’t come back again, and that we can preserve some level of transparency for all Texans."

www.texasobserver.org

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Reposted by Michelle Pitcher

Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · Aug 13

“This is the most massive secrecy grab in Texas since the adoption of the Public Information Act.”

New today from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: A move to "standardize" police personnel files could have devastating consequences for transparency.

Texas Lawmakers Push ‘Massive Secrecy Grab’ to Shield Police Files

As public attention has shifted away from policing reform, legislators attempt to shove information into the dark.

www.texasobserver.org

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Reposted by Michelle Pitcher

Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · Jul 24

New from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: Jorge Renaud, became a social justice advocate after spending years incarcerated in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system. In his new poetry collection, out in May from Plancha Press, he trades in his megaphone for a pen.

Penned Poetry: A Formerly Incarcerated Activist’s Turn to Verse

Longtime advocate Jorge Antonio Renaud lyricizes the grit of prison life in his first published collection of poems, The Restlessness of Bound Wrists.

www.texasobserver.org

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Michelle Pitcher @michellepitcher.bsky.social · Jul 16

Full story: www.texasobserver.org/robert-rober...

Robert Roberson Faces New Execution Date in Controversial ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ Case

The new date comes after Ken Paxton took over the case that could lead to the nation's first execution based on the contested diagnosis.

www.texasobserver.org

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Michelle Pitcher @michellepitcher.bsky.social · Jul 16

Good question. The state had requested a specific date—it wasn’t the judge’s call.

Michelle Pitcher @michellepitcher.bsky.social · Jul 16

“It doesn’t seem like anything is going to get resolved without a date.” -Judge Austin Reeve Jackson, who points out he doesn’t have the authority to weigh the merits of the case.

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Michelle Pitcher @michellepitcher.bsky.social · Jul 16

The judge ruled that the execution date will be set for October 16, 2025. #RobertRoberson

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Michelle Pitcher @michellepitcher.bsky.social · Jul 16

Robert Roberson has arrived at the courtroom after an hourlong delay. The hearing is official starting. #RobertRoberson

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Michelle Pitcher @michellepitcher.bsky.social · Jul 16

At least two Texas exonerees—Cassandra Rivera from San Antonio and Ben Spencer from Dallas—have shown up to show their support. #RobertRoberson

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Michelle Pitcher @michellepitcher.bsky.social · Jul 16

The AG's office under Ken Paxton is pushing for an October 16 execution date. There is still a filing in front of the Court of Criminal Appeals arguing Roberson's innocence. #RobertRoberson

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Michelle Pitcher @michellepitcher.bsky.social · Jul 16

Reporters and TV crews are starting to trickle in to the Anderson County Court House for a 10 a.m. hearing on whether to set a new execution date for Robert Roberson. #RobertRoberson

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Michelle Pitcher @michellepitcher.bsky.social · Jun 26

Some context: www.texasobserver.org/ruben-gutier...

Texas Plans to Execute Man After Courts Refuse DNA Tests

Ruben Gutierrez was convicted of murder in 1999 under Texas’ “Law of Parties.” He says he had nothing to do with the killing.

www.texasobserver.org

Michelle Pitcher @michellepitcher.bsky.social · Jun 26

INBOX: Last summer, Ruben Gutierrez got within 20 minutes of execution before the U.S. Supreme Court stepped in. For years, he's been asking for pieces of evidence to be DNA tested. Today, #SCOTUS ruled that he has the right to challenge the Texas law that's standing in his way.

U.S. SUPREME COURT RULES RUBEN GUTIERREZ HAS STANDING TO CHALLENGE THE CONSTITUTIONALITY

OF THE TEXAS POST-CONVICTION DNA STATUTE

(Thursday, June 26, 2025, Washington, D.C.) Today, the United States Supreme Court ruled, in a 6-3 opinion, that Texas death row prisoner Ruben Gutierrez should be permitted to continue his lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the Texas post-conviction DNA statute. Mr. Gutierrez was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 1999 even though no physical or forensic evidence connects him to the crime. The Court held that “Gutierrez has standing to bring his §1983 claim challenging Texas’s postconviction DNA testing procedures under the Due Process Clause.”

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Michelle Pitcher @michellepitcher.bsky.social · Jun 17

Background on the case: www.texasobserver.org/death-row-sh...

Junk Science, ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome,’ and the Fate of Robert Roberson

An East Texas man could soon become the nation's first person killed by the state based on the controversial hypothesis.

www.texasobserver.org

Michelle Pitcher @michellepitcher.bsky.social · Jun 17

Robert Roberson's attorney Gretchen Sween on the TX AG's request for a new execution date: "The AG’s unjustified rush to seek an execution date while that new evidence of innocence is before the court is outrageous."

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Reposted by Michelle Pitcher

Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · Jun 17

The Texas AG has asked a judge to set (another) execution date in the case of Robert Roberson...

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Reposted by Michelle Pitcher

Peter Barth @oldpete45.bsky.social · May 27

@texasobserver.org piece and audio by @michellepitcher.bsky.social here: www.texasobserver.org/new-leads-in...

New Leads in an Infamous Corpus Christi Cold Case

An open-source review unearths fresh details about a Texas oilman’s murder.

www.texasobserver.org

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Reposted by Michelle Pitcher

Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · May 21

Our top story: Clinton Young spent nearly two decades condemned to die. His peaceful, productive time out on bond poses questions about how Texas decides who lives long enough to get another chance.

Life After Death Row

Clinton Young spent nearly two decades condemned to die. His peaceful, productive time out on bond poses questions about how Texas decides who lives long enough to get another chance.

www.texasobserver.org

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Michelle Pitcher @michellepitcher.bsky.social · May 19

Texas' death penalty doesn't allow for second chances—most of the time. Clinton Young got a rare one and tried to make the most of it: www.texasobserver.org/life-after-d...

Life After Death Row

Clinton Young spent nearly two decades condemned to die. His peaceful, productive time out on bond poses questions about how Texas decides who lives long enough to get another chance.

www.texasobserver.org

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Reposted by Michelle Pitcher

Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · May 19

From @michellepitcher.bsky.social in our magazine: A jury declared that Clinton Young was too dangerous to be allowed to live. His time out on bond raises serious questions about who gets a "second chance" at living and rehabilitation.

Life After Death Row

Clinton Young spent nearly two decades condemned to die. His peaceful, productive time out on bond poses questions about how Texas decides who lives long enough to get another chance.

www.texasobserver.org

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Reposted by Michelle Pitcher

Texas Observer @texasobserver.org · Apr 30

New from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: Texas jails are so overcrowded—partly because they’re often a county’s largest mental health facility—that some counties ship people awaiting trials to distant jails, sometimes out of state. Bills pending at the Lege could make overcrowding even worse.

Abbott's Bail Agenda Could Swell Texas Jails, Test U.S. Constitution

Republicans want to double down on a system that can keep Texans in jail for years without a trial, while attacking bail funds that try to help.

www.texasobserver.org

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