Robert Roberson ‘shocked’ by Texas execution delay

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

Roberson, 57, would be the first person in the United States to be sentenced to death for a murder conviction linked to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome.

He was sentenced to death for the murder of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, after prosecutors argued that she died from injuries sustained from being violently shaken. Roberson has maintained her innocence, and lawyers and some medical experts say she died from complications related to pneumonia rather than abuse.

The decision that spared Roberson’s life came after last-minute legal challenges and pressure from Republican and Democratic lawmakers who say Roberson is innocent and that his conviction was based on science that has been discredited.

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

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

In a statement provided to News weekRoberson’s attorney, Gretchen Sween, said, “The vast team fighting for Robert Roberson – people from across Texas, the country and the world – is elated tonight that a contingent of courageous, bipartisan Texas legislators has chosen to delve into the facts of Robert’s case that no court had yet considered 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 legal system. Thank you to everyone who supported Robert, an innocent man on death row in Texas.”

In an attempt to buy time for Roberson, 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 halted the execution, but the decision was reversed by an appeals panel. The Texas Supreme Court then issued its order, staying Roberson’s execution. Roberson is scheduled to testify before the committee on Monday.

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

“And while some courts may have failed him, the Texas House did not. We are deeply grateful to the Texas Supreme Court for respecting the role of the Texas Legislature on such important issues. and along with 31 million Texans, finally giving him – and the truth – a chance to be heard.”

This happened after Governor Greg Abbott and the US Supreme Court refused to stay 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 Parole denied Roberson’s request for clemency.

Roberson’s lawyers argued in the petition that experts have largely disproved that Curtis’ symptoms aligned with shaken baby syndrome.

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