Death row inmate has execution blocked by judge with less than two hours to go
Poppy Bilderbeck
Featured Image Credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice / YouTube/The New York Times
A judge granted a temporary restraining order to pause a man's execution less than two hours before it was set to take place.
In 2002, Robert Roberson's baby daughter Nikki Curtis passed away at the age of two. He was accused of abusing the two-year-old, convicted and sentenced to death.
On July 1, 2024, the 57-year-old's execution date was set for October 17 at around 6:00pm, however, just 90 minutes before, a Travis County judge stopped the execution from going ahead.
Advert
The post-mortem examination on Nikki concluded she'd passed away as a result of 'shaken baby syndrome' and subsequently as a result of abuse.
Mayo Clinic explains: "A serious brain injury resulting from forcefully shaking an infant or toddler. It's also known as abusive head trauma, shaken impact syndrome, inflicted head injury or whiplash shaken infant syndrome."
However, Roberson has maintained his innocence and his lawyers have argued the child passed away as a result of complications from pneumonia.
The Innocence Project argues the 'shaken baby syndrome hypothesis' has since been 'debunked' and the whole case is 'riddled with unscientific evidence, inaccurate and misleading medical testimony and prejudicial treatment'.
It claims Nikki was 'chronically ill' and 'sick with a high fever' when she 'suffered a short fall from bed,' ultimately passing away from 'accidental and natural causes'.
It adds: "Hospital staff did not know Mr. Roberson had autism and judged his response to his daughter’s grave condition as lacking emotion."
And on Wednesday, in light of scientific evidence which is available today but wasn't at the time of Roberson's trial, the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence passed a motion to summon Roberson to attend court. This, alongside a temporary restraining order being filed on Thursday, subsequently paused Roberson's execution.
The Supreme Court of Texas said in a statement to Twitter earlier today: "The Supreme Court of Texas has granted a Texas House of Representatives' emergency motion in part and issued a stay, effectively halting the execution of Robert Roberson."
According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Roberson has since been moved back to the Polunsky Unit in Livingston Texas.
He is expected to testify in a hearing next week.
Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee chairman Joe Moody and Jeff Leach said in a joint statement: "We are deeply grateful to the Texas Supreme Court for respecting the role of the Texas legislature in such consequential matters.
"We look forward to welcoming Robert to the Texas Capitol, and long with 31 million Texans, finally giving him - and the truth - a chance to be heard."