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State Representative Jeff LeachR-Plano sent a message to a Texas Court of Criminal Appeals judge last week saying death row inmate Robert Roberson deserves a new trial; This is a clear violation of Texas’ disciplinary rules of professional conduct.

Texas’ highest criminal court detailed textual correspondence between Leach and an unnamed judge in an Oct. 25 letter sent by Anderson County District Attorney Allyson Mitchell to Roberson’s attorney. Here, Leach expressed that he was hesitant about whether he could legally correspond with the judge. He eventually decides to make a plea to save Roberson’s life.

“I have racked my brains on whether I should send this message to you…or even where I can legally and ethically send this message to you,” wrote Leach, a member of the House Criminal Justice Committee and one of the driving forces. He is behind the effort to stop Roberson’s execution. “There are too many questions, too many gaps and too much uncertainty… and Robert Roberson deserves a new trial.”

Leach, who said he was not an active party in any matter before the court, added that only one judge on the bench should change his mind about Roberson’s case and allow the court to reconsider his request for a new trial. The court’s 5-4 majority rejected Roberson’s final objections.

“I am sending this message only to you,” Leach wrote to the unnamed judge. “As my friend and a great Judge who I trust so much, I hope you will consider doing this.”

According to the letter, the judge wrote in response: “I cannot consider your message and cannot discuss any pending matters with you.”

Roberson currently has no cases pending before the Court of Criminal Appeals; Leach alluded to this in his correspondence with the high court.

“I was unaware of any matters pending before the court,” Leach wrote.

Under Texas’ Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct, attorneys are prohibited from attempting to influence a court regarding matters pending before that court or matters that are “reasonably foreseeable” to be heard in that court. Violation of the rules may result in disciplinary action by the State Bar of Texas.

Leach did not immediately respond to The Texas Tribune’s request for comment. Roberson’s attorney confirmed receipt of the letter.

The letter marks the latest chapter in a roller-coaster legal battle that Leach, state lawmakers and lawyers first waged to save Roberson’s life. The Texas Supreme Court stayed Roberson’s execution on October 17 after a bipartisan criminal justice committee subpoenaed him and asked him to testify at the Capitol four days after his scheduled execution.

The subpoena created a separation of powers issue between the state’s executive and legislative branches. Roberson’s execution was postponed until the resolution of this dispute.

Roberson was convicted in 2003 of the death of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, who he said had fallen out of bed at the family’s home in Palestine. Nikki was diagnosed as a shaken baby, but experts and lawmakers say evidence not presented at trial discredits that theory and proves Roberson’s innocence. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has repeatedly denied a stay of Roberson’s execution.

The ongoing effort to save Roberson’s life has turned into a public political battle as more elected officials weigh in on the issue. Governor. Greg Abbott broke his silence He addressed the issue in an amicus brief on Oct. 21, criticizing lawmakers for overstepping their authority and stating that only the governor has the authority to grant clemency in capital cases. The governor has the authority to grant a one-time 30-day postponement in death penalty cases.

Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a graphic press release last weekHe insists Roberson is guilty. A group of state lawmakers responded with a 16-page rebuttal; He noted credibility issues with witnesses who gave trial testimony disparaging Roberson and refuted Paxton’s claims that Nikki had extensive bruising when she arrived at the hospital.

Members of Nikki’s family (her brother Matthew Bowman, her aunt Jessica Rachelle Carriere, and her grandfather Larry Gene Bowman) sent a letter to the House Criminal Justice Committee saying they were convinced Roberson was guilty.

“We all kept an open mind and were ready to receive new information before and during the trial that might indicate his innocence,” the family wrote. “All we wanted was to know what happened to Nikki and what caused her death. After listening to countless hours of testimony, we are convinced that Mr. Roberson is guilty and directly responsible for Nikki’s death.”

In the letter, they said they had “witnessed repeated harassment” by Roberson and condemned the “one-sided picture recently presented in the media” of his case.

Shortly after, Roberson’s family published a statement to support his innocence.

Thomas Roberson, the death row inmate’s younger brother, said on behalf of himself, his partner Jennifer Martin and his brother John Roberson, “No one who knew Robert well believed he could harm any child.” “And to this day, I remain convinced that he could not have done what he was accused of doing.”

Thomas Roberson argued that people who did not know his brother were spreading false stories about him and repeating “things they had no way of knowing about him.”

He described his brother as “someone who stands up for kids who are made fun of by others.” “I never saw him get hurt or say a bad word to any kid.”

He added that Roberson fought for custody of Nikki after her mother had her children taken away from her by Child Welfare. He stated that Nikki’s maternal grandparents agreed that Roberson would have custody of her.

“People who never knew my brother are saying things about him that are not true. “They appear to be saying these things to justify executing him,” Thomas Roberson said. “I don’t understand what they’re doing, but I understand their pain.”