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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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Robert Roberson was "shocked" after the Texas Supreme Court halted his execution on Thursday.
Roberson, 57, had been set to become the first person in the United States to be put to death for a murder conviction tied to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome.
He was sentenced to death for the killing of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, after prosecutors argued that she died from injuries caused by being violently shaken. Roberson has maintained his innocence, and lawyers and some medical experts say she died from complications related to pneumonia, not abuse.
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The ruling that spared Roberson's life came after last-ditch legal challenges and pressure from both Republican and Democratic lawmakers who say Roberson is innocent and that his conviction was based on science that has been discredited.
"He was shocked, to say the least," Amanda Hernandez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice who spoke with Roberson after the court stayed his execution, told reporters, according to The Associated Press.
"He praised God and he thanked his supporters. And that's pretty much what he had to say."
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In a statement provided to Newsweek, Roberson's attorney Gretchen Sween said: "The vast team fighting for Robert Roberson—people all across Texas, the country, and the world—are elated tonight that a contingent of brave, bipartisan Texas lawmakers chose to dig deep into the facts of Robert's case that no court had yet considered and recognized that his life was worth fighting for.
"He lives to fight another day and hopes that his experience can help improve the integrity of our criminal legal system. Thank you to all who have supported Robert, an innocent man on Texas's death row."
In a bid to buy Roberson time, lawmakers issued a subpoena for him to testify before a House committee next week, arguing that executing him before he could offer testimony would violate the Legislature's constitutional authority.
A judge paused the execution, but that ruling was reversed by an appeals panel. The Texas Supreme Court then issued its order, halting Roberson's execution. Roberson is scheduled to testify before the committee on Monday.
"For over 20 years, Robert Roberson has spent 23.5 hours of every single day in solitary confinement in a cell no bigger than the closets of most Texans, longing and striving to be heard," Texas State Representatives Joe Moody, a Democrat, and Jeff Leach, a Republican, said in a joint statement.
"And while some courthouses may have failed him, the Texas House has not. We're deeply grateful to the Texas Supreme Court for respecting the role of the Texas Legislature in such consequential matters. We look forward to welcoming Robert to the Texas Capitol, and along with 31 million Texans, finally giving him—and the truth—a chance to be heard."
It came after Gov. Greg Abbott and the U.S. Supreme Court both declined to halt Roberson's execution.
Abbott had the authority to grant a 30-day reprieve, the only action he could take in the case after the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Roberson's clemency petition.
Roberson's attorneys argued in the petition that experts have largely debunked that Curtis' symptoms aligned with shaken baby syndrome.
They also said that Roberson has autism, which was not diagnosed until 2018, and that his demeanor was wrongfully used against him when he brought his daughter to the hospital.
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