A Texas judge has issued a last-minute restraining order to stop the execution of Robert Roberson, a death row inmate who many believe is innocent. The temporary reprieve leaves Roberson’s path to exoneration open, though it’s unclear what his next steps are.
Travis County Judge Jessica Mangrum issued a temporary injunction halting the execution just 90 minutes before it was set to take place after Governor Greg Abbott and the United States Supreme Court declined to intervene.
Roberson’s two-year-old daughter died in 2002, believed to be the result of shaken baby syndrome, a condition that health and legal experts have come under scrutiny in recent years. Roberson, who was later diagnosed with autism, was accused of killing her after expressing little grief over her death, according to Texas Public Radio.
Supporters of Roberson, including the Innocence Project, claim his prosecution was riddled with “unscientific evidence, inaccurate and misleading medical testimony, and adverse treatments.”
Roberson filed multiple appeals in state courts this week, but all were rejected. On Wednesday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected his clemency requests. Ultimately, his execution was stayed due to unprecedented legal maneuvering by Texas lawmakers. A House committee has subpoenaed the inmate to testify about the case in the Legislature. They then filed a request for a stay with a Travis County judge.
Many attorneys have promoted Roberson’s innocence, including a detective who participated in the investigation into the death of Roberson’s daughter.
“This is an innocent man, beyond a shadow of a doubt,” former police detective Brian Wharton told lawmakers at a hearing Wednesday.
The high-profile death penalty case is the umpteenth this year in which a plaintiff requested a last-minute delay. Last month, Marcellus Williams was executed in Missouri despite questions about his conviction. Activists attempted to spare Williams, but Missouri’s Republican Governor Mike Parson and the Supreme Court denied the plea.
A representative of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican and ally of Abbott, told Texas Public Radio that the agency would immediately appeal to the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals to resume the execution.
