Updated Oct 18, 2024 - Politics & Policy

Texas Supreme Court halts man's execution in shaken baby syndrome case

Sareen Habeshian

The Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-run facility that houses the state of Texas death row for men. — The Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-run facility that houses men on death row in the state. Photo: François Picard/AFP via Getty Images

The Texas Supreme Court halted the execution of Robert Leslie Roberson III late Thursday, hours before he was scheduled to be given a lethal injection.

The big picture: Roberson, who has maintained his innocence in the death of his daughter, was due to become the first person in the U.S. to be executed for a murder conviction based on shaken baby syndrome, per the Innocence Project, which has campaigned against the execution.

State of play: Roberson was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Thursday after two decades in prison.

But Travis County District Judge Jessica Mangrum in Austin, Texas, granted a temporary restraining order from a coalition of Texas House members to delay the execution so Roberson can testify about his case at a hearing next week.
Around the same time the judge's order was granted, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its own order that allowed the execution to proceed, but Justice Sonia Sotomayor urged Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to allow a 30-day delay.
The Texas Attorney General's Office immediately appealed Mangrum's decision and it was overturned by the Criminal Court of Appeals.
Then the Texas Supreme Court issued a rare stay of execution late Thursday after the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence argued it needed to hear testimony from Roberson in the case.

What they're saying: "An executive reprieve of 30 days would provide the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles with an opportunity to reconsider the evidence of Roberson's actual innocence," Sotomayor wrote. "That could prevent a miscarriage of justice from occurring."

The offices of the governor and the attorney general did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment.

Context: Roberson was convicted for the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in the East Texas city of Palestine.

His lawyers claim Curtis died from complications related to pneumonia, not from abuse.

What's next: Roberson is due to testify before the panel on Monday.

Go deeper: Tennessee is close to releasing a new execution protocol, official says

Editor's note: This article has been updated with details of the Texas Supreme Court's order.

Add Axios on Google

Texas Supreme Court halts man's execution in shaken baby syndrome case

What to read next