Texas execution tied to 'shaken baby syndrome' death is in limbo amid legal fight
Texas is preparing to put Roberson to death Thursday in what would be the nation's first execution involving a case of "shaken baby syndrome."
The Texas Supreme Court late Thursday halted the execution of a man who was set to be the nation’s first person to be executed for a “shaken baby” death after a day of legal maneuvers.
Robert Roberson, 57, has maintained his innocence after his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, died in 2002. He had been scheduled to die by lethal injection at 6 p.m. local time at the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville. The state’s death warrant expired at midnight.
Shortly before 10 p.m. local time, the Supreme Court issued a stay, or temporary halt, after a bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers issued a subpoena for Roberson to testify at a hearing next week about his case — which he cannot do if he is dead, the high court noted.
A lower court issued a temporary restraining order halting the execution, an appeals court overturned that order, and lawmakers then appealed to the state Supreme Court, which issued the stay.
The length of the stay was not specified, but Supreme Court Justice Evan Young wrote in the opinion that the lower court should act swiftly. “The district court should proceed to the underlying merits with maximum expedition, subject to this Court’s review,” he wrote.
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