Texas Judge Tells Jury God Told Him Defendant Is Innocent

A Texas judge is under review after interrupting a jury's deliberation to sway their verdict, telling them God told him the defendant was not guilty.

Judge Jack Robison of Comal County interrupted Jury deliberations on January 12th in a case involving a woman charged with trafficking a teenage girl for sex. Robison reportedly stopped jury deliberations to encourage them to return a not guilty verdict, saying,

When God tells me I gotta do something, I gotta do it.

Defense lawyer Sylvia Cavazos and members of the jury told the media that Robison admitted that what he did was improper, but noted that he was fine with it because he was directed by God to do it.

The jury didn't buy Robison's opinion, delivering a guilty verdict. Robison then recused himself from the sentencing portion of the trial, where the defendant was given a 25 year prison sentence. The defense's request for a mistrial was denied.

According to MyStatesman.com, Robison has ignored several requests for comment. A juror on the trial told reporters that he has filed a complaint with the State Commission on Judicial Conduct over Robison's God-inspired interruption. Though such investigations haven't resulted in the forced removal of a judge from the bench in over a decade, several judges a year resign due to these investigations.