Overview

• Smith County Judge Austin Reeve Jackson set the new execution date during a July 16 hearing on the state’s request.
• Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office had taken over the case from the Anderson County district attorney and moved to schedule the warrant.
• Roberson’s team objected to setting a date while a habeas corpus appeal is pending at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
• The case hinges on disputed shaken baby syndrome science, with defense experts citing natural causes like pneumonia.
• A bipartisan group of lawmakers secured last year’s stay by issuing a subpoena, triggering rare separation-of-powers debates.