HOUSTON — Texas’ top criminal court on Thursday again paused the execution of Robert Roberson, just days before he was set to become the first person in the U.S. put to death for a murder conviction tied to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome.

This was the third execution date that Roberson’s lawyers have been able to stay since 2016, including one scheduled nearly a year ago due to an unprecedented intervention from a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers who believe he is innocent.

The latest execution stay was granted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Roberson had been scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Oct. 16 for the death of his 2-year-old daughter Nikki Curtis.

Since his first execution date more than nine years ago, Roberson’s lawyers have filed multiple petitions with state and federal appeals courts, as well as with the U.S. Supreme Court, to stop his execution. They have also asked the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Greg Abbott to intervene, as part of their efforts to secure Roberson a new trial.

Will ‘junk science’ law secure Roberson a new trial?

“He is actually innocent,” Gretchen Sween, one of Roberson’s attorneys, told reporters after the court ruling. “I would like to prove that and get him home one day.”

Roberson’s attorneys have argued his then-undiagnosed autism helped convict him as authorities and medical personnel felt he didn’t act like a concerned parent because his flat affect was seen as a sign of guilt. He was diagnosed with autism in 2018.

The court granted the stay based on Texas’ 2013 junk science law, which allows a person convicted of a crime to seek relief if the evidence used against them is no longer credible. It cited its October 2024 ruling that overturned the conviction of another man, Andrew Roark, in another shaken baby case in Dallas. Roberson’s lawyers argue that the two cases are indistinguishable.

The appeals court sent Roberson’s case back to his trial court in East Texas for review to determine if he should get a new trial.

Matthew Bowman, Nikki’s half-brother, said he and his family are disappointed by Thursday’s ruling, and that they think Roberson should be executed. Bowman told The Associated Press he believes the evidence shows Roberson caused Nikki’s injuries by repeatedly hitting her.

“In my opinion, he’s the only one that could have done it that night. So we’re hoping that the execution comes back,” he said.

The Texas Attorney General’s Office, which is seeking Roberson’s execution, has not responded to an email requesting comment.