Texas Supreme Court halts execution of man convicted of shaking and killing infant daughter
A judge granted a request by local Democratic and Republican lawmakers for Robert Roberson to appear before a state House committee that is evaluating his case.
Robert Roberson before the court
The Texas Supreme Court granted a last-minute request to stay Robert Roberson's execution Thursday. The decision came amid insistent efforts by Roberson, who has autism, to prove his innocence in the death of his 2-year-old daughter.
In the ruling, a judge from the state's top court granted a request by local Democratic and Republican lawmakers for Roberson to appear before a Texas House committee that will evaluate his case, putting off the execution, even though his conviction still stands.
"If the sentence is carried out, the witness obviously can't appear," Judge Evan Young deemed.
Roberson, 57, was convicted of causing the death of his daughter Nikki in 2002, whom he had taken to the hospital. He denies his guilt, and even one of his accusers has recanted.
Roberson's team celebrated the decision and noted that a group of Texas lawmakers decided to investigate his case in depth.
The cause of death of the girl, who suffered from a chronic illness, was diagnosed at the hospital as shaken baby syndrome, meaning she had injuries from allegedly being shaken by her father.
Roberson's attorney, Gretchen Sween, argued that in her opinion, that diagnosis was erroneous and that the child died from pneumonia that was exacerbated when doctors prescribed inadequate treatment.
As of this past week, the Texas Pardons Committee had unanimously denied a request by attorneys to recommend that Gov. Greg Abbott grant him clemency.
While Abbott could not grant a pardon without the committee's consent, he could stay the execution for 30 days, but he did not do so.
The U.S. Supreme Court had also denied a request to stay his execution.
As a last resort, a committee of Republican and Democratic Texas state lawmakers asked the court to allow them to interview Roberson before his execution. The request was initially accepted by a district judge in Texas, then rejected by an appeals court and finally accepted by a Texas Supreme Court justice.
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