Robert Roberson 'shocked' by execution delay in Texas

Robert Roberson was “shocked” after the Texas Supreme Court halted his execution on Thursday.

Roberson, 57, would become the first person in the United States to be executed for murder related to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome.

He was sentenced to death for the murder of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, after prosecutors argued that she died from injuries sustained from violent shaking. Roberson has maintained his innocence and lawyers and some medical experts say she died as a result of pneumonia rather than abuse.

The verdict that spared Roberson's life came after final legal challenges and pressure from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers who claim Roberson is innocent and that his conviction was based on discredited scientific evidence.

“He was shocked to say the least,” Amanda Hernandez, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice who spoke to Roberson after the court stayed his execution, told reporters, according to the Associated Press.

“He praised God and thanked his supporters. And that’s exactly what he had to say.”

Provided in a statement NewsweekRoberson's attorney, Gretchen Sween, said: “Tonight, the large team fighting for Robert Roberson – people across Texas, across the country and around the world – is delighted that a group of courageous, bipartisan Texas lawmakers have chosen to step forward “to delve deeply into the facts of Robert's case.” that no court had yet thought about it and recognized that his life was worth fighting for.

“He lives to fight another day and hopes his experience can help improve the integrity of our criminal justice system. Thank you to everyone who supported Robert, an innocent man on death row in Texas.”

To buy Roberson time, lawmakers issued a subpoena for him to testify before a House committee next week, arguing that executing him before he could testify would violate the legislature's constitutional authority.

A judge stayed the execution, but that decision was overturned by an appeals panel. The Texas Supreme Court then issued its order, stopping Roberson's execution. Roberson is scheduled to testify before the committee on Monday.

“For more than 20 years, Robert Roberson has spent 23.5 hours every day in solitary confinement in a cell no bigger than most Texans’ closets, longing to be heard,” say Joe Moody, a Democrat, and Jeff Leach, a Republican, said in a joint statement.

“And while some courthouses may have failed him, the Texas House of Representatives has not. We are deeply grateful to the Texas Supreme Court for respecting the role of the Texas Legislature in such important matters. We look forward to welcoming Robert to the Texas Capitol. and to join 31 million Texans in finally giving him – and the truth – a chance to be heard.”

This came after both Governor Greg Abbott and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to stop Roberson's execution.

Abbott had the authority to grant a 30-day reprieve, the only action he could take in the case, after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected Roberson's request for clemency.

Roberson's lawyers argued in the petition that experts have largely refuted that Curtis' symptoms were related to shaken baby syndrome.

They also said Roberson suffers from autism, which was only diagnosed in 2018, and that his behavior was unfairly used against him when he took his daughter to the hospital.