The Texas judge sets a new execution date for the death series -inmates Robert Roberson

Originally published: 16 Jul 25 13:38 et

By Ashley Killough, Dakin Andone, CNN

(CNN) – On Wednesday, a Texan judge set a new date of execution for Robert Roberson on Wednesday, an inmate in the center that says that he was innocent in the death of his 2-year-old daughter in 2002.

Judge Austin Reeve Jackson determined the date on October 16 – almost a year after Roberson was to be killed beforehand. The execution was discontinued after a remarkable maneuver of the state legislators who had campaigned for the case of the inmate, which prompted the Supreme Court of Texas to spend a stay.

The new execution date prepares the stage for another potentially high battle to save Roberson's life. His lawyers have argued that, based on allegations, Nikki Curtis, he was wrongly convicted, died of a shaken baby syndrome – a diagnosis of which they have been discredited since then. Roberson's lawyers and supporters say that he deserves a different process in the face of new evidence, of which they believe they will prove his innocence.

Gretchen Sween, Roberson's lawyer, said that the decision of the judge on Wednesday was indignant and “demonstrably innocent man” should describe her client.

“Anyone who took the time to consider the evidence of Robert Roberson's innocence – including the main detective, one of the jurors, a series of highly qualified experts and a group of cross -party legislators – has come the same conclusion: Nikki's death was a terrible tragedy,” said Sween. “Robert did not kill her. There was no crime.”

While child abuse is still determined by the validity of the shaken baby syndrome diagnosis, Roberson's lawyers say that the diagnosis is inaccurate. When they are put to death, Roberson say the first person in the United States who is being executed because of an assertion of the shaken baby syndrome because of a conviction.

Roberson's lawyers say that there is sufficient evidence that his daughter has not died of child abuse, but countless health problems, including pneumonia, sepsis and a combination of prescribed drugs, which are now considered inappropriate for children.

Roberson currently has a plea for the State Court of Justice.

Roberson was to be executed last October, but in the eleventh hour a State House Committee spent a summons for the occupational testimony when they looked at the legality of its conviction. The unprecedented tactics triggered a debate about the separation of powers and prompted the Supreme Court of the state to temporarily hire the execution so that it could take the application into account.

In November, the state's Supreme Court resolved the way for a new execution date, which was determined by a state judge. The judge in Anderson County, who had previously set Roberson's departure date, later withdrawn from the case.

In the case of the district prosecutor, Attorney General Ken Paxton asked to take over the public prosecutor, and Paxton's office last month called for a new execution date. Judge Jackson, who comes from another county, was assigned to the case.

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