This man is days away from being executed for a criminal offense numerous proof suggests he didn’t commit. His identify is Robert Roberson. “Roberson has spent greater than twenty years on loss of life row.” “He’s set to be executed in lower than two weeks.” It’s 2002. Robert Roberson had a 2-year-old daughter named Nikki. And he or she was sick. She had a excessive fever and pneumonia. He says he wakened one night time and she or he’d fallen off the bed. He comforted her, put her again to sleep. However when he wakened within the morning, she had turned blue. So he took her to the emergency room. She died a day later. Nikki had three signs. And at that time, if a baby had these signs, the one rationalization was shaken child syndrome. “Roberson was arrested that day. Throughout his time on loss of life row since 2003, Roberson has maintained his innocence.” Now there’s numerous proof pointing to why Roberson wants a brand new trial. Some courts have known as the way in which that shaken child syndrome has been utilized in courtroom junk science. At this level, 40 mother and father and caregivers have been exonerated for convictions that have been based mostly on shaken child syndrome. And final 12 months, the Texas Court docket of Prison Appeals really overturned one other shaken child conviction. It had the identical pediatrician testifying as in Roberson’s case. Right here’s a quote from the courtroom: ‘The admissible scientific testimony at trial as we speak would seemingly justify an acquittal.’ When Nikki died, the docs and the lead detective, Brian Wharton, suspected Robert Roberson partly as a result of he didn’t appear emotional. What they didn’t know was that he had autism. “It’s arduous to specific myself in sure issues and stuff.” And typically individuals with autism have hassle expressing their feelings in the way in which most individuals do. This has grow to be a harrowing case for Brian Wharton. Even he now believes that Roberson is harmless. And he really went to loss of life row to ask for Roberson’s forgiveness. “Let me simply say, I’m so sorry that you simply’re right here. And so sorry that you’re nonetheless right here.” “Sure, sir.” “It’s our failure.” If all of this wasn’t distressing sufficient, there’s really additionally new proof on this case. In 2018, a field of lacking proof that had Nikki’s CT scans in it was discovered for the primary time. After that, numerous docs checked out this case, and so they concluded that Nikki really died of extreme pneumonia, which the docs missed in 2002. She was on medicine that made it even more durable for her to breathe. The docs additionally say that she had a uncommon blood-clotting illness, which might have led to her loss of life. Roberson’s attorneys are asking for a brand new trial. However to date, the Texas Court docket of Prison Appeals has not dominated on Roberson’s new proof of innocence. As a substitute, a decrease courtroom granted the Texas lawyer normal’s request to set an execution date on Oct. 16. That’s the place we are actually. This case has gotten all tousled in native Texas politics. Ken Paxton, the lawyer normal, is pushing actually arduous for Roberson’s execution. And a few of the Texas legislators, who’re on the opposite facet, have been additionally concerned within the impeachment inquiry into Ken Paxton. These two issues are colliding in a approach that’s actually not serving to Mr. Roberson. It’s within the energy of the governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, to cease this execution. He might pause the scheduled execution date for 30 days to make it possible for the courts rule in time earlier than Mr. Roberson is executed. And if he doesn’t, Mr. Roberson will die on Oct. 16. He could be the primary particular person executed in the US based mostly on the prognosis of shaken child syndrome.
