By Rich McKay
(Reuters) – The Texas Supreme Court on Friday said the state could set a new execution date for a man convicted of murdering his toddler on evidence of “shaken baby syndrome,” ruling that a legislative committee exceeded its authority in delaying the sentence.
The court granted a temporary stay in October, halting the execution so it could consider the request by the legislators. But that stay was vacated on Friday, which means the execution can move ahead.
In October, Robert Roberson, 57, was set to become the first person in the U.S. to be executed for a murder attributed to internal brain trauma caused by violent shaking. He was convicted of killing his two-year-old daughter Nikki in 2002.
Hours before the sentence was to be carried out, he was spared death by lethal injection because a bi-partisan group state lawmakers wanted him to testify before them about the case, and successfully petitioned the high court.
Lawmakers were reviewing Roberson’s case while debating whether to strengthen a Texas statute that addresses convictions linked to so-called junk science. While generally still accepted in the pediatric community, the theory that shaking can cause fatal brain injuries in children, especially those who show no other signs of injuries, has come under fire.
“Categorically prioritizing a legislative subpoena over a scheduled execution, in other words, would become a potent legal tool that could be wielded not just to obtain necessary testimony but to forestall an execution,” the Texas Supreme Court said in its ruling on Friday.
But the court also said that state lawmakers can still interview Roberson as long as the testimony does not interfere with a new execution date.
Roberson has maintained his innocence, saying his daughter fell out of bed and stopped breathing – days after a doctor diagnosed her with a viral infection.
Gretchen Sween, Roberson’s lawyer, was not immediately available for comment on Friday. But she said in a statement to the media that, “Nikki’s death was a tragedy not a crime; Robert is innocent.”
“Given the overwhelming new evidence of innocence, we ask the State of Texas to refrain from setting a new execution date,” she said.
(Reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Frank McGurty and Nick Zieminski)
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