Texas was about to execute Robert Roberson. Then a last-ditch tactic bought him more time

HOUSTON (AP) — Robert Roberson, set to be the first person in the U.S. to be put to death for a murder conviction tied to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome, was nearly out of options to stop his execution in Texas.

A state parole board, multiple lower courts and the U.S. Supreme Court had all rejected his requests to delay his lethal injection on Thursday evening for the killing of his 2-year-old daughter in 2002. And it seemed unlikely that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott would use his power to grant a one-time 30-day reprieve as he had only stopped one imminent execution in his nearly 10 years in office.

Roberson’s final hope rested with a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers who believe he is innocent and their extraordinary and unprecedented strategy to delay his execution: issuing a subpoena for him to testify before a House committee next week, which would be days after he was scheduled to die.

After several hours of legal debate Thursday evening among three different state courts, the Texas Supreme Court sided with the lawmakers and upheld a temporary restraining order that stayed the execution.

The unconventional method of using a subpoena to stop Roberson’s execution was punctuated by the delay coming from the Texas Supreme Court, the state’s highest civil court. Amy Starnes, a court spokesperson, said the Texas Supreme Court's chief justice wasn't aware of another execution that had been stopped by the court.

“It really is highly dramatic and something I certainly have never seen,” said Sandra Guerra Thompson, a law professor at the University of Houston Law Center.

Roberson is now set to speak in person before the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Monday. But beyond that, it is unclear what will happen in his case. A new execution date could be set. Roberson’s attorneys say they will use the extra time he has to fight for a new trial.

Here’s what to know about Roberson’s case and how his execution was delayed:

Roberson, 57, was convicted of killing his daughter, Nikki Curtis, in the East Texas city of Palestine. Authorities say Curtis died from injuries related to shaken baby syndrome. Roberson’s lawyers and some medical experts say his daughter died not from abuse but from complications related to pneumonia. They say his conviction was based on flawed and now outdated scientific evidence.

The diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome refers to a serious brain injury caused when a child’s head is hurt through shaking or some other violent impact, like being slammed against a wall or thrown on the floor.

Roberson’s supporters don’t deny head and other injuries from child abuse are real. But they say doctors misdiagnosed Curtis’ injuries as being related to shaken baby syndrome and that new evidence has shown the girl died from complications related to severe pneumonia.

Anderson County District Attorney Allyson Mitchell has said the prosecution’s case showed the girl had been abused by her father.

Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee late Wednesday decided to issue a subpoena for Roberson as a way of delaying his execution.

“This was the one of the few avenues open to them was the subpoena power that that they have,” Thompson said.

The committee’s members argued before a judge in Austin on Thursday, less than two hours before Roberson’s scheduled execution, that they needed to hear from Roberson about whether a 2013 law created to allow prisoners to challenge their convictions based on new scientific evidence was ignored in his case.

The judge sided with the lawmakers and issued a temporary restraining order that would essentially delay the execution. The order came as the U.S. Supreme Court rejected Roberson’s request to stay his execution.

The judge's order was appealed by the state to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state’s top criminal court, which overturned it. The lawmakers had one final move: an appeal to the Texas Supreme Court.

Thompson said the lawmakers were able to ask the Texas Supreme Court to step in because laws regarding subpoenas are civil in nature.

“I think it’s extremely unusual, but not likely to become a regular occurrence,” Thompson said.

In its ruling, the Texas Supreme Court said while it has no authority over criminal cases, the questions being raised over whether the Legislature can use its authority to compel a witness to testify and as a result block the enforcement of a death sentence is a matter of civil law that will have to be decided.

“While the news from the Supreme Court is encouraging, we cannot stop advocating for Robert because of this temporary win. Despite the extraordinary efforts of our elected officials, his attorneys, medical experts and the hundreds of thousands of people who spoke out for Robert, his fate is far from certain,” the Innocence Project, which is working with Roberson’s legal team, said in a statement.

Roberson is scheduled to testify in person before the Texas House committee on Monday, said Gretchen Sween, one of Roberson’s attorneys.

Once he appears before the committee, that fulfills the subpoena and there is nothing to prevent the setting of another execution date, Thompson said.

Mitchell, the district attorney in Anderson County, could seek a new execution date at any time after Monday’s hearing, Sween said.

Mitchell did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment.

But under Texas law, a new execution could not take place until about 90 days after a judge sets a new date. The earliest a new execution could be set would be in 2025, Sween said.

“We will continue to seek out avenues to get relief for Robert in the form of a new trial. But the only obvious way that can happen at this time is through the (Texas Court of Criminal Appeals), which has not yet been inclined to look at the new evidence,” Sween said in an email.

Follow Juan A. Lozano on X at https://x.com/juanlozano70.

Jennifer Martin, center, and Thomas Roberson, right, older brother of condemned prisoner Robert Roberson, holds signs with others as they protest outside the prison where Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Thomas Roberson, right, older brother of condemned prisoner Robert Roberson, and Jennifer Martin, center left, holds signs with others as they protest outside the prison where Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Prison staff gather at the main entrance of the building housing the execution chamber as Robert Roberson awaits his execution, at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Thomas Roberson, older brother of condemned prisoner Robert Roberson, protests with others outside the prison where Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Dani Allen, center left with microphone, an anti-death penalty advocate, speaks during a protest outside the prison where Robert Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Dani Allen, an anti-death penalty advocate, speaks during a protest outside the prison where Robert Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Texas State Rep. John Bucy III speaks to reporters on the pending execution of Robert Roberson during an impromptu press conference outside of the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Gloria Rubac, left, an anti-death penalty activist, speaks during a protest outside the prison where Robert Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Jennifer Martin, left, and Thomas Roberson, older brother of condemned prisoner Robert Roberson, right, holds signs as they protest outside the prison where Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Casandra Rivera, left, Anna Vasquez, second from left, and Elizabeth Ramirez, center, of the "San Antonio 4" group, hold boxes with petitions being delivered in the Texas State capitol for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott seeking the pardoning of Robert Roberson's execution, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024 in Austin, Texas. Roberson, 57, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Oct. 17, for the 2002 killing of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in the East Texas city of Palestine. Roberson has long proclaimed his innocence. (AP Photo/Nadia Lathan)

FILE - Texas lawmakers meet with Robert Roberson at a prison in Livingston, Texas, Sept. 27, 2024. (Criminal Justice Reform Caucus via AP, File)

Ann Dorn, a local Catholic parishioner opposed to the death penalty, protest outside the prison where Robert Roberson is scheduled for execution at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Texas state representatives Lacey Hull, left, and John Bucy III comment during a press conference after the stay granted by the Texas Supreme Court to halt the execution of Robert Roberson, at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

Amanda Hernandez, director of communications for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, announces the stay granted by the Texas Supreme Court to halt the execution of Robert Roberson during a press conference at the Huntsville Unit of the Texas State Penitentiary, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Huntsville, Texas. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A fast-moving brush fire in Northern California prompted an evacuation of an Oakland neighborhood and damaged at least four structures.

At least 80 firefighters were battling the 8-acre (3.2-hectare) blaze in the Oakland hills and state crews have arrived to help, the Oakland Fire Department said.

The fire comes as forecasters issued red flag warnings for fire danger until Saturday from the central coast through the San Francisco Bay Area and into northern Shasta County, not far from the Oregon border.

The fire is burning in the Oakland hills where a 1991 fire destroyed nearly 3,000 homes and killed 25 people.

A California utility shut off power in 19 counties in the northern and central part of the state as a major “diablo wind” — notorious in autumn for its hot, dry gusts — spiked the risk of power lines sparking a wildfire.

About 16,000 customers were without electricity Friday after Pacific Gas and Electric shut off power.

The “diablo wind” is forecast to cause sustained winds reaching 35 mph (56 kph) in many areas, with possible gusts topping 65 mph (104 kph) along mountaintops, according to the National Weather Service. The strong winds are expected to last through part of the weekend.

The utility began cutting power Thursday to customers in 12 counties, including Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, Solano and Sonoma in the Bay Area, and some customers farther north in Colusa, Glenn, Tehama and Shasta counties, PG&E said.

A total of about 20,000 customers could lose power temporarily in the next couple of days, PG&E said in a statement Friday.

“The duration and extent of power outages will depend on the weather in each area, and not all customers will be affected for the entire period,” the utility said.

It was not immediately clear what caused the Oakland blaze. The fire department ordered people to evacuate Friday on two streets, Campus Drive and Crystal Ridge Court. No injuries have been reported.

“This could end up being the most significant wind event for this year so far,” said meteorologist Brayden Murdock with the service’s Bay Area office. “We want to tell people to be cautious.”

During a diablo wind, common in the fall, the air is so dry that relative humidity levels plunge, drying out vegetation and making it ready to burn. The name — “diablo” is Spanish for “devil” — is informally applied to a hot wind that blows near the San Francisco region from the interior toward the coast as high pressure builds over the West.

Targeted power shutoffs were also possible in Southern California, where another notorious weather phenomenon, the Santa Ana winds, are expected Friday and Saturday.

Santa Anas are dry, warm and gusty northeast winds that blow from the interior of Southern California toward the coast and offshore, moving in the opposite direction of the normal onshore flow that carries moist air from the Pacific into the region.

The National Weather Service issued red flag warnings for the valleys and mountains of Los Angeles County, portions of the Inland Empire, and the San Bernardino Mountains.

Winds around greater Los Angeles won’t be as powerful as up north, with gusts between 25 and 40 mph (40 and 64 kph) possible in mountains and foothills, said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Los Angeles-area office.

The strongest winds were being recorded in the Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains, where Friday there were gusts between 45 and 55 mph (72 and 88 kph) with isolated gusts up to 60 mph (96 kph), he said.

“Humidities are drying out and we have the winds, if we had a fire spark it could really spread quickly because of the current conditions,” Wofford said.

Meanwhile, some mountaintops around Lake Tahoe received light snowfall overnight Friday, according to the National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada. Near sub-freezing temperatures are expected again Friday night into Saturday

Wind sensors in two peaks west of Lake Tahoe registered 75 and 104 mph (120 kph and 167 kph) winds Friday with strong winds expected to continue through the night before tapering off Saturday morning, the National Weather Service said.

The service also issued its first freeze warning of the season along the Sierra’s eastern front effective from 2 a.m. to 9 a.m. Friday from south of Carson City to the north through Reno into Lassen, Sierra and Plumas counties in California where temperatures could dip into the low 20s Fahrenheit (-5 Celsius).

“Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops, other sensitive vegetation and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing,” the service said.

FILE - A firefighter sprays water in front of an advancing wildfire Friday, Oct. 11, 2019, in Porter Ranch, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)