Texas Supreme Court stops execution of man last minute

The Texas Supreme Court has issued a last-minute stay of execution to an autistic man whose murder conviction was based on what his lawyers say was a misdiagnosis of "shaken baby syndrome."

Robert Roberson had been scheduled to die by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville for the February 2002 death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki.

But the Texas Supreme Court temporarily delayed the execution following an appeal from Texas politicians who issued a subpoena to Roberson so he could testify before a House committee that is examining his conviction.

Roberson would be the first person executed in the United States based on a conviction of shaken baby syndrome, according to his lawyers.

The US Supreme Court has denied a stay of execution for an autistic man convicted of murder in a "shaken baby syndrome" case, although his lawyers managed to secure a potential last-ditch delay from a judge in Texas.

Robert Roberson, 57, was scheduled to die by lethal injection at the Texas state penitentiary in Huntsville for the February 2002 death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki.

The conservative-majority Supreme Court denied Roberson's request for a stay of execution without comment.

But a district court judge in Texas issued a temporary order that would delay Roberson's execution so he can respond to a subpoena issued by a Texas House of Representatives committee that is examining his conviction.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an immediate appeal seeking a lifting of the temporary order and it was not immediately clear if it would be granted, allowing the execution to proceed.

Roberson, however, has maintained his innocence and his attorney, Gretchen Sween, said there is "overwhelming new medical and scientific evidence" that shows his daughter died of "natural and accidental causes, not abuse."

The diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome, made at the hospital where Roberson's chronically ill daughter died, was erroneous and the cause of death was in fact pneumonia, which was aggravated when doctors prescribed improper medication, Sween said.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles declined by a 6-0 vote to recommend clemency to Roberson and commute his sentence to life in prison.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott is unable to grant clemency without a recommendation from the board, but he can grant a 30-day reprieve of Roberson's death sentence.

Roberson's case has drawn the attention of the Innocence Project, which works to reverse wrongful convictions, as well as best-selling American novelist John Grisham, Texas lawmakers and medical experts.