Texas Supreme Court declares that Robert Roberson’s execution, convicted of 'shaken baby syndrome,' can resume

The execution of Robert Roberson, convicted in 2002 of the murder of his two-year-old daughter because of "shaken baby syndrome," can resume, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday.

Roberson’s sentence has been scrutinized in the state and nationally, with the condemned man proclaiming his innocence for years. If the execution goes forward, he would be the first person in the nation's history to receive the death penalty for a "shaken baby syndrome" case.

Last Oct. 17, Roberson was set to be executed before the court intervened, and a Texas House committee issued a subpoena for Roberson to testify, thus halting the execution amid legal battles over his fate.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and other state officials have said Roberson was legally sentenced to death and has "exhausted every legally available appellate avenue."

The Texas Supreme Court, meanwhile, ruled that a legislative subpoena cannot be used to stop an execution.

The ruling comes after Republican and Democratic lawmakers used the maneuver to pause lethal injection at the last minute last October.

Roberson has received bipartisan support from local lawmakers and medical experts who say he was convicted with flawed tests for the diagnosis of "shaken baby syndrome." However, supporters of the execution say the murder conviction took other elements into account.

In 2002, Roberson was convicted of murdering his infant daughter Nikki, in a trial where the testimony of a pediatrician proved crucial. This specialist described the girl's brain swelling and hemorrhages as compatible with shaken baby syndrome.

Roberson's legal team, on the other hand, argued that more recent evidence showed that the baby was suffering from pneumonia and that doctors had prescribed breathing-suppressant drugs before her death.

According to Roberson's attorneys, this generated a case of severe viral and bacterial pneumonia that evolved into sepsis and then septic shock.

While the state Supreme Court paved the way for a new execution date, the day when the death penalty will be applied against Roberson has not yet been defined.