Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson sat praying in a cell Thursday night just feet from the execution chamber where he was set to be put to death for the murder of his toddler – even as the state and his attorneys exchanged frantic 11th-hour legal maneuvers to determine his fate before the clock ran out.

On Wednesday, the lawmakers voted to issue a subpoena for Roberson to testify before the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence. On Thursday, they secured an order from a Texas judge staying the execution and forbidding state officials from preventing Roberson from answering the subpoena.

A Texas man whose execution was called off at the last minute is to testify on Monday before state lawmakers looking into his controversial conviction in a "shaken baby syndrome" case.Texas lawmakers have ordered Roberson,