Texas Supreme Court Clears Path for Robert Roberson's : Will It Finally Proceed?-urgent360

The Texas Supreme Court has ruled that the execution of Robert Roberson, a Texas man convicted of killing his two-year-old daughter, can proceed.

 

Roberson was set to be the first person in the U.S. executed for a murder associated with “shaken baby syndrome,” but legal challenges delayed his execution last month following public outcry.

 

The Texas Supreme Court’s decision allows a state judge to set a new execution date.

 

Roberson, who has consistently claimed innocence, argues that new evidence indicates his daughter’s death was due to complications from pneumonia. Hours before his scheduled execution on October 17, the Texas House of Representatives issued a bipartisan subpoena for him to testify in a hearing that would occur after his scheduled execution.

 

A Travis County judge subsequently issued a restraining order to pause the execution until after the hearing.

 

However, on Friday, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the lawmakers’ subpoena did not have the authority to override the scheduled execution. This decision followed a failed appeal from Roberson, as well as unsuccessful bids for clemency, which were denied by both the Texas parole board and Governor Greg Abbott.

 

Lawmakers had hoped to explore questions surrounding Roberson’s case and review new scientific findings that could impact his conviction.

 

Although Phil McGraw, known as Dr. Phil, and scientific experts testified at the hearing, Roberson himself was not present. Due to security concerns, the state’s attorney general prevented him from attending in person, and he was also denied a virtual appearance because of his unfamiliarity with modern technology, having been in prison for over two decades and living with autism.

 

Among topics discussed was Texas’s “junk science law,” which allows inmates to challenge convictions based on later-debunked scientific theories. Dr. McGraw and others suggested this law might apply to Roberson’s case.

 

Roberson was sentenced to death in 2003 for his daughter Nikki Curtis’s death. A post-mortem examination concluded her death was due to injuries from abuse, though Roberson maintains she fell from her bed and was unresponsive when he found her hours later. He took her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

 

Medical staff initially suspected abuse, but Roberson’s lawyers argued his daughter was prescribed medications no longer given to children because of possible severe complications, which, combined with the fall, could explain her death.

 

In 2023, an appeals court found insufficient evidence to overturn his conviction, and the Supreme Court declined to review his case.

 

“Shaken baby syndrome,” now termed “abusive head trauma,” is commonly diagnosed when retinal hemorrhage, brain swelling, and brain bleeding are present. Although widely accepted, a recent report emphasizes the importance of ruling out other potential causes before concluding ab