Texas Supreme Court clears way for Robert Roberson's execution

Nov. 15 (UPI) -- The Texas Supreme Court on Friday said the execution of Robert Robersoncan move forward after halting it last month.

The court ruling could make Roberson the first person executed on evidence of a death related to shaken baby syndrome, which many experts have called into question as unreliable over the years. Roberson was convicted in 2002, of the death of his 2-year-old daughter Nikki Curtis.

A Texas House committee, which had lawmakers sympathetic to Robertson's cause, issued a subpoena for him to testify in front of them and hear new evidence after his Oct. 17 executive completion date, creating a conflict with other state branches.

The Texas Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the committee did not have the authority to do so, clearing the way for Roberson to be executed.

"Even with those premises, we have concluded that the committee could not overcome the other branches' authority," the Supreme Court said. "Legislative investigatory power, even at its maximum, is insufficient to forestall a long-scheduled execution under the circumstances presented here."

The court went on to say that the committee may have accomplished some of what it wanted anyway in seeking to enforce the subpoena.

"There remains a substantial period between now and any potential future rescheduling of Roberson's execution," the court said. "If the committee still wishes to obtain his testimony, we assume that the department can reasonably accommodate a new subpoena."

The original prosecutors in Anderson County said that the questions over the validity of shaken baby syndrome did not make Roberson innocent or qualify him for a new trial and they stand by the conviction.

Roberson's defenders said their new evidence also includes undiagnosed conditions later found in his daughter that are more plausible causes for her death.