All day Thursday, many watched as Robert Roberson’s fate hung in the balance.

Roberson, 57, was convicted in 2003 of murdering his 2-year-old daughter Nikki and sentenced to death. He has maintained his innocence during the two decades he spent on death row, and doubts have been raised about his conviction because of the “shaken baby syndrome” theory, which was used in part to convict him but later disputed.

Roberson’s execution was originally scheduled for 2016, but was postponed due to a 2013 Texas “junk science” law that allows people convicted based on disputed scientific theories to have their cases reexamined. Further appeals failed, leading to Roberson’s execution scheduled for Thursday.

On Wednesday, however, members of the Texas House of Representatives Criminal Justice Committee issued a subpoena calling for Roberson to testify before the committee in Austin next week. The subpoena came after lawmakers heard hours of testimony as they tried to understand whether Roberson’s case had been dutifully re-examined under the junk science law.

Thursday was full of questions, namely what impact the subpoena would have on the case. A Travis County judge issued a temporary restraining order honoring the subpoena on Thursday, but that TRO was blocked hours later by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Late Thursday night, an emergency motion was granted to the Texas Supreme Court to delay Roberson’s execution, allowing him to testify in Austin on Monday and temporarily saving his life.

After the news broke late Thursday, many accounts on The committee that issued the subpoena consists of five Republicans and four Democrats.

At the Huntsville jail where Roberson is imprisoned, a crowd of about fifteen people came to protest his execution burst into applause and cheers when the news was announced.

Other accounts on X thanked God, with one account writing: “In tears. My goodness. They actually did the right thing.”

Other comments criticized the way events unfolded.

“A legislative committee now has more power than the governor (limited to a one-time 30-day commutation) or the highest criminal court (which is bound by a legal standard),” said Matt Rinaldi, the former head of the Republican Party of Texas and a former state lawmaker in the Dallas area. “This is the way you destroy the legitimacy of a legal system.”

Multiple elected officials from Texas and other states on Thursday called on Governor Greg Abbott to intervene in Roberson’s case. Many accounts on X also called on Abbott to spare Roberson’s life, something the governor has done only once before, in 2018.

Abbott did not comment publicly on the case Thursday. Abbott spokespeople did not respond to three text messages from The Dallas Morning News on Thursday.

State Rep. Brian Harrison, R-Midlothian, was active on X all day Thursday with posts calling for the subpoena to be honored. Harrison said justice requires Roberson to get a new trial.

Harrison, a member of the House committee that issued the subpoena summoning Roberson.

After the stay was announced, Harrison posted the news to X, calling the order “huge.” In replies to his post, several accounts celebrated the news and thanked Harrison for fighting for Roberson and for “justice.”

State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, another member of the committee, virtually attended a hearing Thursday in Travis County where the temporary restraining order was granted.

“I’ve been doing this long enough to know and see when the system has failed someone,” Leach said in an X post. “The legislature has a role to step in and ensure that our justice system is not only preserved but strengthened.”

At 7 p.m., with Roberson’s fate hanging in the balance, Leach reported that he was praying about the situation.

“Praying as if everything depends on God, and it does,” Leach said. “But work as if everything depends on us.”

After the execution was stayed, Leach and state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, released a joint statement expressing their gratitude to the Texas Supreme Court.

“While some courthouses may have failed him, the Texas House has not,” the statement said. “We look forward to welcoming Robert to the Texas Capitol and, along with 31 million Texans, finally giving him – and the truth – a chance to be heard.”

Adrian Garcia, a Harris County commissioner, said in a statement on was based on flawed science. He asked Abbott to stop Roberson’s execution.

About X, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said: that executing Roberson “would exacerbate an already serious miscarriage of justice.” He also called on Abbott to intervene.

In a lengthy X-post, state Rep. Nate Schatzline, R-Southlake, said that while he believes in the death penalty, he opposes Roberson’s execution. He said that after delving deeply into the case and attending Wednesday’s hearing, he has “never been more convinced” that the state is about to execute a man who is potentially innocent.

“Regardless of the one document you may have read, or the messages you see on ‘To be honest, it’s not even a conclusive file. This is a situation where the Anderson County District Attorney who set the death penalty date couldn’t even remember the details of why the additional evidence proving all these claims of violence were unsubstantiated was rejected by the court rejected.

Schatzline said he is not saying Roberson is innocent, but it is not certain he is guilty. He called on Abbott to pause the execution for 30 days.

U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, an Illinois Democrat and son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, also called for an immediate stay of execution for Roberson and said there is an urgent need for a thorough review of his case, citing concerns about the fairness of the process. the trial and the evidence used.

In a post on X, Jackson said the case raises serious questions about the integrity of the American justice system.

“We cannot allow an execution to proceed if there is substantial doubt about the validity of the conviction,” Jackson said. “It is imperative that we ensure that every individual receives a fair trial and that justice is truly served.”