Texas’ top criminal court has again paused the execution of Robert Roberson, just days before he had been set to become the first person in the U.S. put to death in a shaken baby case. The execution stay was granted on Thursday by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Texas’ top criminal court on Thursday again paused the execution of Robert Roberson, just days before he was set to become the first person in the U.S. put to death for a murder conviction tied to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome.
This was the third execution date that Roberson’s lawyers have been able to stay since 2016, including one scheduled nearly a year ago, due to an unprecedented intervention from a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers who believe he is innocent.
The latest execution stay was granted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Roberson had been scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Oct. 16.
The court granted the stay based on Texas’ 2013 junk science law, which allows a person convicted of a crime to seek relief if the evidence used against them is no longer credible. In granting the stay, the court cited its October 2024 ruling that overturned a conviction in another shaken baby case out of Dallas. Roberson’s lawyers argue that case is indistinguishable from Roberson’s.
The appeals court sent Roberson’s case back to his trial court in East Texas for review.
Since his first execution date more than nine years ago, Roberson’s lawyers have filed multiple petitions with state and federal appeals courts, as well as with the U.
