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    • The Texas Supreme Court stops the execution of Robert Roberson
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    The Texas Supreme Court stops the execution of Robert Roberson

    Kathleen William Posted on

    The decision was the result of an extraordinary push by five Republican and four Democratic lawmakers on the Texas House of Representatives Criminal Justice Committee

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    The Texas Supreme Court on Thursday spared death row inmate Robert Roberson's life and granted a rare stay of execution because prison officials were willing to give him the lethal injection.

    The Supreme Court's decision came after days of legal wrangling and an angry attempt by a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers to stop Roberson's execution for the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki. Strong evidence suggests that Roberson is innocent and was convicted based on shaken baby syndrome, which has been widely debunked.

    Roberson was scheduled to die at 6 p.m. CT, but lawmakers' efforts successfully delayed the execution for hours and ultimately stopped it – a development rarely seen in the state with the highest death penalty rate in the country.

    “After learning of the stay, he (Roberson) praised God and thanked his supporters,” said Amanda Hernandez, a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which carries out executions.

    The last-minute reprieve followed a series of crushing defeats for Roberson's defense attorneys and lawmakers. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles declined Wednesday to recommend a pardon for Roberson. And on Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to stop the execution, saying Roberson's lawyers had not raised a federal issue that the high court had the authority to resolve. And the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has repeatedly rejected attempts to stop the execution, most recently on Thursday.

    The Texas Supreme Court's decision to grant a stay of execution was the result of a push by five Republican and four Democratic lawmakers on the Texas House of Representatives Criminal Justice Committee, who issued a subpoena late Wednesday for Roberson to intervene in his execution.

    Texas Reps. Joe Moody, a Democrat, and Jeff Leach, a Republican, have pushed for Roberson's reprieve and issued a joint statement late Thursday evening thanking the Texas Supreme Court “for taking on the role of the Texas Legislature respected in such momentous matters.”

    “For over 20 years, Robert Roberson has spent 23.5 hours every day in solitary confinement in a cell no larger than the closets in most of Texas, longing to be heard,” they said. “And while some courthouses may have failed him, the Texas House of Representatives has not…We look forward to welcoming Robert to the Texas Capitol and finally giving him – and the truth – a chance to be heard. “

    Here's what you need to know:

    What was Robert Roberson convicted of?

    Roberson was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter Nikki in her home in the East Texas city of Palestine in 2002.

    Roberson reported hearing Nikki crying and realizing she had fallen out of bed. After calming them down, he said they both went back to sleep. When Roberson later woke up, he found Nikki wasn't breathing and her lips had turned blue. In the emergency room, doctors found symptoms suggestive of brain death and she was pronounced dead the next day.

    While doctors and investigators at the time jumped to the conclusion that Nikki died of shaken baby syndrome, the toddler had pneumonia in both lungs, pre-existing conditions for which she was prescribed opioids, now banned for children, and one that wasn't diagnosed sepsis.

    Shaken baby syndrome has largely been exposed as junk science, and the lead investigator in Roberson's case told USA TODAY's “The Excerpt” podcast that he botched the investigation.

    “Robert is a completely innocent man and we were completely wrong because we were looking for the wrong things,” Brian Wharton said, adding that his confirmation bias and a series of misunderstandings wrongly tipped him off to Roberson's guilt.

    “I was wrong. I haven't seen Robert. I didn’t hear Robert,” Wharton said. “I can tell you now, he is a good man. He is a friendly man. He is a gracious man. And he didn’t do what the state of Texas and I accused him of doing.”

    Who fought to prevent the execution of Robert Roberson?

    Perhaps the most notable voices fighting for clemency for Roberson were Republican lawmakers who support the death penalty and work with Democrats on the issue.

    Last month, a bipartisan group of 84 Texas lawmakers called on the state's pardon and parole board to recommend a pardon for Roberson “out of grave concern that Texas may execute him for a crime that was not committed.”

    “It should shock all Texans that we are moving toward an execution in light of this new evidence,” the members of the Texas Legislature wrote. “Other states view Texas as a leader in both enforcing the rule of law and combating wrongful convictions. We now expect you to prevent our state from tarnishing that reputation by allowing this execution to take place.”

    The clemency committee rejected her request.

    In addition to the lawmakers fighting for Roberson, 34 scientific and medical experts wrote to the clemency board, saying that if Nikki had died today, “no doctor would consider shaken baby syndrome” as the cause because the condition is “now considered to be Diagnosis of exclusion applies.” “

    “Nikki's pneumonia, the extreme levels of dangerous drugs found in her body during her autopsy, and her fall from bed explain why Nikki died,” the experts wrote.

    Additionally, parental rights groups, autism advocates, faith leaders and anti-death penalty groups, including the Innocence Project and best-selling author John Grisham, are calling for Roberson's rescue.

    “Nikki’s death was a tragedy, not a crime,” Grisham wrote in a column for the Palestine Herald-Press. “Robert Roberson may be out of options unless the Texas authorities recognize the injustice of the conviction and death sentence against Mr. Robertson, make an about-face and grant him a new trial.”

    More about the efforts that led to the stay of execution

    The dramatic path that led to the Texas Supreme Court's stay of execution began with the Texas House Criminal Justice Committee, which heard hours of expert testimony in the Roberson case on Wednesday and voted unanimously to subpoena Roberson and set his testimony for Monday – four days later – to schedule his execution.

    The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which carries out executions, proceeded as planned Thursday despite the subpoena, telling USA TODAY that they are “preparing and planning to proceed as normal.”

    Shortly thereafter, Travis County Judge Jessica Mangrum heard arguments from Republican Rep. Jeff Leach of Texas and Democratic Rep. Joe Moody, who sought a temporary restraining order on the execution so they could carry out the subpoena and hear Roberson's testimony. Mangrum granted the injunction, but the state attorney general's office immediately appealed and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Mangrum's decision.

    Although that avenue ultimately failed, Leach and Moody took the fight to the Texas Supreme Court and filed an emergency request for a stay of execution to allow Roberson's testimony on Monday.

    “If the TDCJ (Texas Department of Criminal Justice) executes Mr. Roberson on October 17, it will forever deprive the Committee of hearing Mr. Roberson's valuable and relevant testimony to which it is entitled,” they argued. “His testimony will be extremely valuable to the Committee and the Texas public because it will advance the Committee’s and the Legislature’s policies to ensure fair and equitable administration and implementation of laws within their jurisdiction.”

    The Texas Supreme Court agreed to stop the execution to allow the testimony.

    What happens now?

    Roberson is expected to testify before the House committee on Monday. The committee is examining the legality of Roberson's conviction in connection with Texas' so-called “junk science” law. The 2013 law allows people to challenge their beliefs based on new scientific evidence.

    In Roberson's case, knowledge about shaken baby syndrome has changed dramatically since his arrest.

    Roberson's execution may still be postponed.

    Contribution: Taylor Wilson, Maureen Groppe

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    Kathleen William
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