The lead detective in the 2002 investigation that put Robert Roberson on death row pleaded with the Texas House of Representatives on Wednesday, October 16, to spare the prisoner’s life at a hearing that subsequently halted the execution.Roberson was convicted of the 2002 murder of his two-year-old daughter, and had been set to be executed on Thursday.Speaking to a day before Roberson was due to be executed, retired detective Brian Wharton said that the next steps should be to “apologize to Robert and send him home.”Wharton asked anyone with the power to stop the execution not to repeat his own mistakes: “Listen to Robert. Hear his voice. […] Listen, and you will hear innocence.”The Texas House of Representatives then made the unprecedented decision to subpoena Roberson after the scheduled date of his execution.The execution by lethal injection would have been the first linked to a “shaken baby” syndrome case, local news reported.The ruling temporarily blocks Roberson’s execution while allowing for his potential testimony before lawmakers next week, as part of a legislative review of his case. Credit: Texas House of Representatives via Storyful