Texas Supreme Court halts death row inmate execution

Oct. 17 (UPI) -- The Texas Supreme Court late Thursday stayed the execution of death row inmate Robert Roberson, just minutes after the state's highest criminal court had cleared the way for him to be put to death at the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville.

Supreme Court Justice Evan Young issued an opinion on behalf of the high court.

The state high court's ruling was the latest move in a series of back-and-forth legal maneuvers in the execution of Roberson, who was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter in 2002, and was sentenced to be out to death at 7 p.m. EDT on Thursday.

The state Supreme Court move came just minutes after the the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals reversed an order by a Travis County judge who had issued a temporary restraining order halting Roberson's execution.

At the time, the move cleared the way for Texas to execute Roberson. The state Supreme Court issued the stay just before 10:45 p.m. EDT Thursday.

Roberson's attorneys had petitioned the Texas Supreme Court to intervene .

The death warrant was only authorized for Oct 17. Since the execution did not take place by midnight Thursday, the judge will have to issue a new death warrant.

In a dissenting opinion to the criminal courts ruling, which lifted the restraining order and cleared the way for the execution to take place, Justice David Newell said the state should consider the issues raised in the restraining order.

"Today, the court grants mandamus relief under the theory that a civil court's injunction to enforce a legislative subpoena cannot interfere with the carrying out of a death warrant in a criminal case," Newell wrote in his dissent.

"But I believe the scenario presented in this case is sufficiently distinguishable from our previous cases dealing with the interaction between civil and criminal causes of action that we should file and set the case for an opinion on the issues raised. Because the court does not, I dissent."

The temporary restraining order was requested by a Texas House panel and approved by Travis County Judge Jessica Mangrum.

The chairmen of the House committees that requested Roberson's presence at the Monday meeting released a social media statement following the Texas Supreme Court's stay.

"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. And while some courthouses may have failed him the Texas House has not," state Reps. Joe Moody and Jeff Leach said in the joint statement.

"We're deeply grateful the 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," the state representatives said.

The unusual move from the Texas House had called for the restraining order to halt Roberson's execution because lawmakers said they needed him to appear before a House panel Monday to determine whether Texas' "junk science law" is working.

Mangrum issued the restraining order, blocking the execution, but the criminal court vacated that order, again clearing the way for the execution proceed. All of this took place in the span of a few hours on Thursday.

So far, despite myriad appeals and legal challenges, and now the Texas high court's stay, the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to intervene in the Roberson case, though left-leaning Justice Sonia Sotomayor released a statement.

"Few cases more urgently call for such a remedy than one where the accused has made a serious showing of actual in­nocence, as Roberson has here," Sotomayor wrote. "Yet this court can grant a stay only if Roberson can show a 'significant possibility of success on the merits' of a federal claim."

Roberson was set to become the first person in the country to be executed in connection with a death related to 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."

In an interview with NBC News on Wednesday, Roberson called on Gov. Greg 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.

Roberson's attorney Gretchen Sween has maintained that her client's daughter was ill with conditions that explain her death at the time she was hospitalized.