Robert Roberson, seen here last year, was scheduled to be executed on October 16, 2025. Ashley Killough/CNN

Days before his execution, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Thursday sent the case of death row inmate Robert Roberson back to his trial court, granting a stay of execution to a man who claims he is innocent in the murder of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis.

The order says the court found Roberson’s claim – that he should get relief in light of the appeals court’s decision last year to overturn a conviction similarly based on an allegation of shaken baby syndrome – was satisfied. As a result, “we remand the claim to the trial court for resolution,” the order says.

There remains consensus among pediatricians that the diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome – now considered a

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