CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Texas Supreme Court stayed Robert Roberson's execution Thursday evening after hours of legal wrangling over his fate took place in Austin.
Gov. Greg Abbott, who was in town Thursday night speaking at the South Texas Property Rights Association's annual meeting, has the power to postpone Roberson's execution.
3NEWS asked Abbott for comment on the case as he left the event. He did not acknowledge the question.
The dominoes began to fall after, earlier this week, a Texas House of Representatives committee subpoenaed him to appear and testify Oct. 21.
Thursday, an emergency hearing was called about 90 minutes before Roberson's 6 p.m. execution time Thursday in which Travis County Judge Jessica Mangrum issued a temporary restraining order postponing Roberson's 6 p.m. Thursday execution for two weeks, supporting that subpoena.
It was decided at that time the TRO decision would be reviewed Oct. 31.
Thursday evening, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's office filed an appeal -- which was granted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals -- to vacate Mangrum's earlier order.
The Texas House then appealed to the Texas Supreme Court arguing that this is a civil -- not criminal -- matter. The Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals are essentially equals, but the Texas Supreme Court has the final say at the state level on civil cases and the Court of Criminal Appeals has the final say on criminal cases.
"The underlying criminal-law matter is within the Court of Criminal Appeals' authority, but the relief sought here is civil in nature, as are the claims that have been presented to the district court," the Supreme Court's order reads.
The order admits the fight is unprecedented.
The 57-year-old autistic man was set to be executed Thursday night after his lawyers' request for clemency unanimously was denied by the Texas Board of Parole on Wednesday.
Roberson was convicted 20 years ago of murdering his 2-year-old daughter Nikki Curtis on what some are now calling 'junk science,' saying that 'shaken baby syndrome' is a flawed cause-of-death ruling.
Roberson has long proclaimed his innocence. His lawyers as well as a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers, medical experts and others don't deny that head and other injuries from child abuse are real. But they argue his conviction was based on faulty and now outdated scientific evidence and say new evidence has shown Curtis died from complications related to severe pneumonia.
Prosecutors maintain Roberson’s new evidence does not disprove their case that Curtis died from injuries inflicted by her father.
News director Wes Wilson and KHOU contributed to this developing story.