Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson sat praying in a cell Thursday night just feet from the execution chamber where he was set to be put to death for the murder of his toddler – even as the state and his attorneys exchanged frantic 11th-hour legal maneuvers to determine his fate before the clock ran out.

When Derrick Dearman entered Alabama’s execution chamber Thursday evening, he was the fifth man the state put to death this year.

State leaders are bracing for a potential maelstrom at the Texas Capitol on Monday as death row inmate Robert Roberson is set to appear in person at a House committee — the first time a condemned prisoner has testified before state lawmakers.