The Texas Supreme Court halted the execution of Robert Roberson late Thursday night, just two hours after his death warrant expired.
The ruling came after a legal battle over Roberson’s life. Earlier in the evening, a Travis County district judge granted a stay of execution, which was quickly overturned by the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals, as a request from the Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. However, the Texas Supreme Court stepped in and halted the execution again.
The reprieve follows a subpoena from a bipartisan group of Texas House members requesting Roberson to testify next week –after his scheduled execution– over the use of “junk science” in his conviction. Roberson was sentenced to death for the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, under the controversial diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome
According to the Associated Press, The Texas Supreme Court argued that executing Roberson before he could offer subpoenaed testimony would violate the Legislature’s constitutional authority.
Now, Roberson is set to offer testimony on Monday.
A group of lawmakers from both parties, medical experts, and even the detective who helped convict Roberson have argued that new evidence in the case suggest that Nikki died from complications of severe pneumonia and her death was misrepresented as abuse.
“This is an innocent man. And there’s too much shadow of a doubt in this case,” said Democratic state Rep. John Bucy. “I agree this is a unique decision today. We know this is not a done deal. He has a unique experience to tell and we need to hear that testimony in committee on Monday.”
Lawmakers have previously pushed Gov. Greg Abbott to grant Roberson a pardon, however, the state Board of Pardons and Paroles voted unanimously to not recommend a pardon and the Governor can not issue one without the Boards recommendation. However, Abbott can still grant a 30-day reprieve, which could help the Board of Pardons time to reconsider the case.
“Under these circumstances, a stay permitting examination of Roberson’s credible claims of actual innocence is imperative; yet this Court is unable to grant it” U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sona Sotomayor, wrote in a statement. “That means only one avenue for relief remains open: an executive reprieve.”
“That could prevent a miscarriage of justice from occurring: executing a man who has raised credible evidence of actual innocence,” she added.
Abbott has not spoken publicly about the case. He has only halted one imminent execution in nearly a decade as governor.
