Republican and Democratic lawmakers who believe Robert Roberson is innocent utilized the new tactic to postpone his execution at the last minute, but the Texas Supreme Court decided on Friday that a congressional subpoena cannot stop an execution.

The ruling clears the way for Robersons execution to move forward, weeks after a bipartisan group of state House lawmakers bought him more time by subpoenaing Roberson as he waited to be taken to the nations busiest death chamber.

Roberson was sentenced to death in 2003 for killing his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis. He would be the first person in the US to be executed over a conviction tied to shaken baby syndrome, a diagnosis that has been questioned by some medical experts.

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A new execution date for Roberson has not been set, but it is certain to proceed unless Republican Gov. Greg Abbott grants a 30-day reprieve. Abbott did not move to do so before Robersons original execution date and his office challenged the subpoena tactic used by lawmakers, accusing them of overstepping their power.

The states all-Republican high court agreed, ruling that under these circumstances the committees authority to compel testimony does not include the power to override the scheduled legal process leading to an execution, wrote Republican Justice Evan Young, issuing the opinion of the court.

The ruling addressed a subpoena issued for Roberson by the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee. Roberson was scheduled to die by lethal injection on Oct. 17 when lawmakers, in a last-ditch effort, issued a subpoena to have him testify at the Texas Capitol days after his planned execution.

This spurred a legal conundrum between the states criminal and civil courts, which ultimately led to the Texas Supreme Court temporarily ruling in Robersons favor while it considered the matter.

Roberson has gained bipartisan support from lawmakers and medical experts who say he was convicted on faulty evidence of shaken baby syndrome, which refers to a serious brain injury caused when a childs head is hurt through shaking or some other violent impact, like being slammed against a wall or thrown on the floor.

Rep. Joe Moody, who has led the effort to stop Robersons execution, said delaying the execution with the subpoena was never our specific intention and added that the court rightly agreed that the subpoena and lawsuit were valid.

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Moody insisted that Roberson could still be called to testify since the court ruling reinforced our belief that the Committee can indeed obtain Mr. Robersons testimony and made clear it expects the executive branch of government to accommodate us in doing so.

Prosecutors said that Roberson killed his daughter by shaking her violently back and forth. Robersons attorneys have argued that the childs symptoms did not align with child abuse and that she likely died from complications with severe pneumonia.

His case has garnered support from nearly 90 lawmakers across party lines and civil rights advocates who say Roberson is innocent and that he has not been given a fair trial under the states junk science law. The statute allows people convicted of a crime under outdated science to have their sentence overturned. The 2013 law was hailed as progressive and the first of its kind, however civil rights advocates say that the states highest criminal court is not utilizing the law as they should for people facing execution.