Texas

Subpoena showdown: Will Robert Roberson testify at Texas lawmakers' hearing?

Published

1 year ago

December 20, 2024

Subpoena showdown: Will Robert Roberson testify at Texas lawmakers' hearing?

Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson is being called to testify at a state House committee hearing Friday at noon, as ordered by a new subpoena issued this week.

But whether the condemned man will be produced in person is unclear, after the state’s attorney general’s office filed a motion late Thursday allowing the prison to disregard the subpoena pending a hearing to resolve the motion. The office also resisted in October with a similar subpoena for a hearing with state lawmakers.

The new hearing requires the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to transport Roberson from his prison north of Houston to the state Capitol in Austin.

In a statement issued Thursday, the office of Attorney General Ken Paxton said, “In addition to presenting serious security risks, the subpoena is procedurally defective and therefore invalid as it was issued in violation of the House Rules, the Texas Constitution, and other applicable laws.”

Paxton said in October that there were safety concerns with having Roberson brought before lawmakers and cited a lack of a state facility near Austin that could temporarily house him. The state had said he could testify virtually.

In response, the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence offered a compromise that its members could meet with Roberson in prison, saying they were uncomfortable with the video option, given his autism and unfamiliarity with the technology. The meeting, however, never materialized.

A Department of Criminal Justice spokesperson said Wednesday that it “doesn’t have a comment at this time” on whether it would abide by this latest subpoena.

The decision by House committee lawmakers to issue a second subpoena comes after the attorney general’s office challenged the initial one. The original subpoena was an unusual legal gambit that set off a flurry of litigation that put Roberson’s execution on hold mere hours before he was to be executed on Oct. 17. He would have been the nation’s first person to be executed for a “shaken baby” death after long maintaining his innocence. His 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, died in 2002.

The House committee members said they still want Roberson to be able to testify in his case as it relates to a 2013 “junk science” law that allows Texas inmates to potentially challenge convictions based on advances in forensic science.

“Robert’s testimony will shed important light on some of the problems with our ‘junk science writ’ process, a legal procedure Texas lawmakers expected to provide reconsideration in cases like this one,” committee chair and state Rep. Joe Moody, a Democrat, and committee member and state Rep. Jeff Leach, a Republican, said in a statement. “His perspective will be especially valuable as a person on the autism spectrum whose neurodivergence profoundly influenced both his case and his access to justice on appeal.”

Last month, the Texas Supreme Court sided with state officials that lawmakers could not use their subpoena power to effectively halt an execution, but said the committee members could still compel Roberson to testify.

The attorney general’s office has not set a new execution date.

Meanwhile, the lawmakers and Paxton have sparred publicly over Roberson’s case, with each accusing the other of “misrepresenting” details that led to his conviction in his daughter’s death and releasing their own reports in recent weeks rebutting each other’s claims.

Doctors and law enforcement had quickly concluded Nikki was killed as a result of a violent shaking episode, but Roberson’s defense says new understanding of so-called shaken baby syndrome shows that other medical conditions can be factors in a child’s death, as they believe it was in Nikki’s.

Erik Ortiz

Erik Ortiz is a senior reporter for NBC News Digital focusing on racial injustice and social inequality.

Anthony Cusumano contributed.

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Texas

A 13 pound North Texas newborn has a lot of love, with a lot to love

Published

8 hours ago

January 12, 2026

Press Room

A 13 pound North Texas newborn has a lot of love, with a lot to love

One of North Texas’ newest residents, Canyon Cooper Smith, has been here for just about three weeks. But the 13 lb. newborn already has a lot of nicknames.

“We call him our squishy a lot. Big boy. Somebody called him the Grand Canyon. Supa Kupa. Chunkmeister,” said Arlington mom Markie Smith. “Yeah he’s hefty, he’s solid.”

His size was just a bit of a shock to Mom when he was born.

“We were expecting him to be about 10 lbs. When he came out, and they said 12, I did not believe them,” said Smith, “and they were like, ‘He’s huge,’ and he was screaming. They were holding him up like this, and it was just rolls. That’s all I could see. Just bright red mad and rolls.”

Joshua photographer Kim Fain has been taking newborn photos for more than a decade.

“This is the biggest baby I’ve ever had. Chunk,” said Fain.

You probably didn’t know, but just a few pounds can make a big difference when photographing a baby.

“Yeah, my wrists will hurt tomorrow, said Fain. “You can definitely tell the difference between a six-pound baby and a 10-pound baby. Add three or four more pounds; he’s over 13 pounds now.”

However, there is no confusion; Canyon is a fan favorite around here.

“From the moment he’s arrived, he’s just changed… I mean, look at all this hoopla over him,” said Smith.

Canyon is a big baby who’s going to get a whole lot of love. And possibly, a scholarship.

“I’ve been jokingly shouting out ‘Jerry Jones’ because, you know,” said Smith.

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Texas

Texas A&M Lands Second Big-Time Defensive Line Commitment In Transfer Portal

Published

20 hours ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Texas A&M Lands Second Big-Time Defensive Line Commitment In Transfer Portal

Texas A&M has been hard at work attempting to rebuild the trenches on both sides of the ball thus far through the transfer portal window.

That journey has gone smoothly as well, with the Aggies landing offensive tackles Tyree Adams (LSU) and Wilkin Formby (Alabama) as well as interior linemen Coen Echols (LSU) and Trovon Baugh (South Carolina) on one side of the ball, and edge rushers Ryan Henderson (San Diego State) and Anto Saka (Northwestern) and defensive tackle Brandon Davis-Swain (Colorado) on the other.

Now, they have added another name to that mix on the defensive side of the ball, and have done so from another power conference talent.

According to multiple reports, the Aggies have gained a commitment from Illinois defensive tackle Angelo McCullom. He made his decision final following a recent visit to Aggieland.

Who is Angelo McCullom?

Purdue Boilermakers quarterback Ryan Browne is sacked by Illinois Fighting Illini defensive lineman Angelo McCullom | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

The sophomore defensive lineman has spent his first two seasons with Illinois and will have two years of college eligibility remaining.

The six-foot-two, 300-pound defensive lineman saw the field in all 12 games for Illinois this season and earned two starts. In his appearances, McCullom recorded 19 tackles, three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two quarterback hurries, and two pass breakups this season.

The sophomore was also on the field plenty throughout 2025 as he played 295 snaps, the most among Illinois interior defensive linemen, where he earned a 66.9 grade by Pro Football Focus.

McCullom saw the field quickly as a true freshman in the 2024 season, where he played in seven games and tallied two tackles, .5 tackles for loss, and .5 sacks.

The product out of Pickerington North High School in Lewis Center, OH, was a three-star prospect in the 2024 recruiting class. McCullom ranked as the No. 139 defensive lineman in the class and the No. 46 prospect in Ohio, per 247Sports, and committed to Illinois over the likes of Indiana and Pittsburgh.

McCullom now joins Davis-Swain on the interior, who committed to Texas A&M earlier this week on Jan. 5. The six-foot-four, 290-pound defensive lineman recorded 15 tackles, 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, and one pass defended for the Buffaloes this season.

And his addition now brings in an experienced player in a physical conference like the Big Ten, with the size and frame that can hold up and be productive in the SEC.

The two additions doesn’t mean the Aggies are done on the interior defensively.

Rather, far from it. And far from being done in the portal overall.

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Texas

Nate Oats blasts Alabama basketball after Texas loss: ‘Losing doesn’t bother them enough’

Published

1 day ago

January 11, 2026

Press Room

Nate Oats blasts Alabama basketball after Texas loss: ‘Losing doesn’t bother them enough’

Alabama basketball had every chance to beat Texas on Saturday. Time and time again, UA pulled it close, only to blow the opportunity to win.

Instead, the Crimson Tide fell 92-88, dropping to 1-2 to begin SEC play, and taking its second straight defeat. Afterward, Nate Oats went off on his team.

“We got guys that don’t care enough to lock in and follow a game plan,” Oats said during his postgame press conference. “Losing doesn’t bother them enough yet. I don’t know how many losses it’s going to take ‘till it bothers them, but it’s bothering me. It bothers the coaching staff, and as soon as it starts bothering the players enough, I’m sure they’ll change.”

On the defensive end, Alabama couldn’t get enough stops when it needed to. Texas’ Jordan Pope led all scorers with 28 points, tying his career high.

Dailyn Swain and Tramon Mark had 18 each for the Longhorns. UT averaged 1.314 points per possession.

Alabama’s defensive efficiency dropped to 79th in the nation following the loss according to KenPom.

“All of it starts with effort,” Oats said of the defensive issues. “Want to. Competitive edge. Guys who just don’t want to lose, they’re gonna give you everything they got. Guys are apparently too comfortable with losing right now because they’re not giving us everything they got on that end of the floor. SO I think it starts with having guys that just refuse to lose, to start with.

“From there it goes to guys in the moment having some personal pride on stopping their man. Too many blow-bys.Too many isolation plays were just beat one-on-one. Guys not locked in on the help side.”

Another issue for Alabama late in the game was poor free-throw shooting. UA hit 11-of-12 attempts in the first half, but went just 8-for-15 from the line in the second, which became crucial as the referees made their presence known late.

Oats was asked what went wrong from the charity stripe.

“When you’re worried about the wrong stuff,” Oats said. “When you’re locked in, you’re locked in. When you’re locked into defense, all you care about is winning the game. And when you’re locked in on the defensive end, then you go to the line and you’re locked in and you’re just focused on winning the game, you’re gonna step up and you’re gonna make your free throws.

“And when you’re worried about a lot of stuff that’s a distraction and you’re worried about stats and some other stuff and you’re not locked in, that’s when you get to the line and you miss. Especially when you’re a good shooter. Guys that should be making free throws at a high level.”

Alabama travels to Mississippi State on Tuesday to try and get back on track, before a Saturday trip to Oklahoma. Oats did offer some hope that his team would improve, drawn from the team that just beaten the Crimson Tide.

Texas coach Sean Miller had called out his team after its previous loss to Tennessee.

“It bothered Texas,” Oats said. “Texas lost two in a row and started 0-2 (in the SEC). That team looked a lot different than the team that played at Tennessee. So it obviously bothered them enough to change. So hopefully at some point it bothers our guys enough that they’ll invest on the defensive end of the floor.”

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