The Texas Supreme Court at the last minute stays the execution of a man convicted of killing his two-year-old daughter by shaking her

Lawmakers requested the postponement after issuing an unprecedented subpoena Wednesday for death row inmate Robert Roberson to appear before them and answer questions about his case. The Texas representatives Joe Moody and Jeff Leach, who orchestrated Roberson’s subpoena and have championed his cause, praised the Texas Supreme Court’s decision in a written statement.

“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 lawmakers wrote. The order comes after a district court on Thursday issued a temporary injunction to stop its execution, which was overturned by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals a few hours later.

Texas Supreme Court Justice Evan Young, in his order staying the execution, stated that The decision by state legislators to summon Roberson for questioning had created a conflict between the three branches of government. which had to be resolved before any execution could take place.

The US state that has executed the most inmates

The issue was now a matter of civil law, Young wrote, saying that if the sentence was carried out, the witness would obviously be able to appear before the Texas House Committee on Judicial and Civil Jurisprudence that subpoenaed him to appear before them. The fight over Roberson’s execution in Texas, the US state that has executed the most inmates by far, It has been extraordinary.

Roberson, 56, was convicted of killing his two-year-old daughter, Nikki, in 2002. According to the prosecution, he took her to the hospital, where scans showed she had a internal brain trauma the kind that at the time was believed to indicate that a baby had been shaken violently by someone. In the days before her death, a doctor had diagnosed Nikki with a viral infection and fever, and ROberson has long said that on the morning of his death he discovered that he had fallen out of bed.

Many lawmakers in the Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives have questioned his conviction, prompting the House committee to buy Roberson time by issuing the subpoena to testify before them next week. The lead detective who helped secure Roberson’s conviction He has since said that he believes Roberson is innocent.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Wednesday denied Roberson’s request for clemency. The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday denied Roberson’s request to stay his execution. The Texas Attorney General’s Office said that Roberson had failed to prove his “actual innocence” and that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals had ruled that Nikki’s injuries were “incompatible with a brief fall from a bed or complications from a virus.”

Roberson’s lawyers told the Supreme Court that the medical theory used to convict him in 2003 “has been totally discredited since then.” Not only was abuse alleged in 2003,” his attorneys wrote, “but Roberson’s blunted affect and distant manner, manifestations of his autism spectrum disorder mistaken for lack of care, led both medical staff and law enforcement to presume guilt…”