By NADIA LATHAN, Associated Press/Report for America

The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that a legislative subpoena cannot be used to stop an execution after Republican and Democratic lawmakers used the maneuver. to interrupt Robert Roberson’s lethal injection at the last minute.

The ruling addressed a subpoena issued for Roberson by the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence last month, which was seen as a way to delay his execution.

But the high court ruled that “under these circumstances, the committee’s authority to compel testimony does not include the power to override the scheduled legal process leading to an execution,” Republican Justice Evan Young wrote in issuing the court’s opinion.

Roberson was scheduled to die by lethal injection on Oct. 17 when lawmakers, in a last-ditch effort, subpoenaed him to testify at the Texas Capitol, days after his scheduled execution.

A new execution date for Roberson has not been set, but he is certain to go forward unless Gov. Greg Abbott grants a 30-day reprieve.

This set off a legal tussle between the state’s criminal and civil courts, which ultimately led to a temporary decision by the Texas Supreme Court in Roberson’s favor.

Roberson, who was sentenced to death in 2003 for the murder of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis. He won bipartisan support from lawmakers and medical experts who say he was convicted on flawed evidence of “shaken baby syndrome,” which refers to a serious brain injury caused when a child’s head is injured by shaking or other violent impact , such as being hit. on a wall or thrown on the floor.

Roberson would be the first person in the United States to be executed for killing a child in this manner.

Rep. Joe Moody, who led the effort to stop Roberson’s execution, said delaying the execution with the subpoena was “never our specific intent” and added that the court “rightly agreed” that the subpoena and lawsuit were valid .

Moody insisted that Roberson could be called to testify because the court’s ruling “reinforced our belief that the Committee can indeed obtain Mr. Roberson’s testimony and made it clear that the executive branch of government expects us to accept that.” .