Texas man Robert Roberson was scheduled to be executed on Oct. 16 for the 2003 murder of of his then-two-year-old daughter, Nikki.

Yet in a bombshell move, Texas' Court of Criminal Appeals intervened on Thursday by blocking Roberson's execution. 

Court points to 2013 "junk science" law

That's according to The Texas Tribune, which noted that the all-Republican court voted five to four in favor of a stay based on Texas' "junk science law," a piece of legislation that was passed in 2013.

It allows for an appeal if "relevant scientific evidence is currently available and was not available at the time of the convicted person's trial because the evidence was not ascertainable through the exercise of reasonable diligence by the convicted person before the date of or during the convicted person's trial."

At issue is Roberson's conviction via shaken baby syndrome, with the court citing its decision in 2024 to overturn another shaken baby syndrome conviction that his lawyers contend is "materially indistinguishable."

"There is a delicate balance and tension in our criminal justice system between the finality of judgment and its accuracy based on our ever-advancing scientific understanding," Judge Bert Richardson wrote.

The appellate judge went on to point out that "[a] death sentence is clearly final and, once carried out, hindsight is useless."

New evidence points to faulty medication

The Tribune noted that medical experts concluded that Nikki was suffering from undiagnosed chronic pneumonia and had been given medications that are no longer prescribed to children her age.

The drugs have since been found to suppress breathing, and the experts argued that this would have resulted in brain swelling. What's more, sepsis made Nikki more susceptible to bleeding and bruising.

"None of these circumstances were identified or even considered, let alone excluded, in assessing her condition," Roberson’s attorneys pointed out.

They insisted that setting aside the "discredited and unreliable forensic science" can only result in one conclusion: "There was no homicide, only the tragic death of his very ill little girl."

Prospects for new trial uncertain

Attorney Gretchen Sween serves as head of Roberson’s legal team, and she expressed confidence at a press conference "that an objective review of the science and medical evidence will show there was no crime."

"Robert adored Nikki, whose death was a tragedy, a horror compounded by Robert’s wrongful conviction that devastated his whole family," she insisted.

The Tribune noted that the Court of Criminal Appeals did not adjudicate Roberson's claim of innocence but did order the trial court to consider whether a new trial is appropriate.