Few options left as Robert Roberson heads for execution

Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Robert Roberson is set to become the first person in the country to be executed in connection with a death related to shaken baby syndrome as few avenues for the process to be halted remain.

Only Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the U.S. Supreme Court can potentially stand in the way of the execution scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT after a series of court and board rejections to appeals to block it. Roberson was convicted in the 2002 death of his daughter because of Shaken Baby Syndrome.

Roberson has long maintained his innocence. The science used to convict him has come under question in recent years to the point where cases have been overturned around the country. The lead detective who helped convict Roberson, Brian Wharton, is now one of the leading advocates asking for his freedom.

Prosecutors in Anderson County, which tried the original case, have said that none of that matters . Evidence in the case remains convincing that Roberson murdered his daughter under Shaken Baby Syndrome and should be executed.

"I'm ashamed that I was so focused on finding an offender and convicting someone that I did not see Robert," said Wharton, who testified Wednesday to the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence, according to the Texas Tribune. "I did not hear his voice."

The Texas Board of Pardons and Parole voted unanimously to not offer a clemency application to Roberson on Wednesday, despite a group of bipartisan lawmakers, a rarity in Texas, joining forces to ask for at least a pause on the execution.

In an interview with NBC News on Wednesday, Roberson called on Abbott to step in and stop his execution, maintaining his innocence.

"Look at the support I've got, Mr. governor, and I'm just hoping, praying that you do the right thing," he said.

The House House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence committee on Wednesday issued a subpoena for Roberson to testify at a hearing next week, a move meant to obstruct the execution, but it could possibly be ignored by Abbott and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, which was silent on the procedure Thursday morning.

Roberson's attorney Gretchen Sween, who has maintained that her client's daughter was ill with conditions that explain her death at the time she was hospitalized, said she remains hopeful for an 11th-hour reprieve given the growing support.