By JUAN A. LOZANO, Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) — Texas’ top criminal court on Thursday again paused the execution of Robert Roberson , just days before he was set to become the first person in the U.S. put to death for a murder conviction tied to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome .

This was the third execution date that Roberson’s lawyers have been able to stay since 2016, including one scheduled nearly a year ago , due to an unprecedented intervention from a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers who believe he is innocent.

The latest execution stay was granted by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Roberson had been scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Oct. 16 .

The court granted the stay based on Texas’ 2013 junk science law, which allows a person convicted of a cr

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