Texas may be about to execute a man whose conviction for his daughter’s death is based on a now-widely rejected medical concept. Robert Roberson’s lawyers have filed a plea for a stay of execution and an application for a writ of habeas corpus, claiming that fresh evidence shows that his daughter, Nikki Curtis, died of natural and accidental causes rather than maltreatment by Roberson. According to attorney Gretchen Sween, courts across the country are exonerating convicted parents and caregivers or recommending new trials due to the discrediting of the shaken baby hypothesis by contemporary scientific inquiry.
Despite the fresh evidence and uncertainties raised about the shaken baby syndrome, which molded a trial two decades ago, the state has set Roberson’s execution for October 17. The state granted a previous stay in 2016, but the process of obtaining critical medical data and autopsy reports has been lengthy. This critical material is now part of the case file, bolstering the argument for a man’s potentially unlawful execution based on what his defense terms a “discredited shaken baby hypothesis,” as recounted by the Houston Chronicle.
Contrary to allegations of violent shaking leading to homicide, Roberson’s defense claims his daughter died of “severe viral and bacterial pneumonia that progressed to sepsis and then septic shock,” which explains her unfortunate demise. This narrative is supported by professionals such as former lead detective Brian Wharton, who, in an interview with the Innocence Project, expressed his belief in Roberson’s innocence, saying, “For over 20 years, I have thought that something went very wrong in Mr. Roberson’s case and feared that justice was not served.” According to the Houston Chronicle, Roberson claims he found his daughter unresponsive after falling from bed on the night in question, a statement supported by his persistent denial of guilt over the course of two decades on death row.
Expert testimony during an evidentiary hearing bolstered the defense’s case by rejecting the original notion of shaken baby syndrome. Despite the discovery of multiple elements omitted in the initial diagnosis by these experts, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Roberson a new trial last year. According to the Texas Tribune, the defense argued that establishing an execution date under the current evidence would be “premature and unjust.”
Roberson’s defense team will continue to argue that his conviction and upcoming execution are unjust. New scientific research and advancements in similar cases imply that a kid cannot be shaken to death unless they have serious neck injuries, which Nikki did not have. This science, which was once a cornerstone of Roberson’s conviction, now raises severe concerns about the integrity of the verdict and the possibility of an irreversible miscarriage of justice.
