This man is days away from being executed for a criminal offense loads of proof suggests he didn’t commit. His title is Robert Roberson. “Roberson has spent greater than 20 years on dying 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 she or he was sick. She had a excessive fever and pneumonia. He says he awakened one evening and he or she’d fallen away from bed. He comforted her, put her again to sleep. However when he awakened 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 toddler had these signs, the one clarification was shaken child syndrome. “Roberson was arrested that day. Throughout his time on dying row since 2003, Roberson has maintained his innocence.” Now there’s loads of proof pointing to why Roberson wants a brand new trial. Some courts have known as the best way that shaken child syndrome has been utilized in court docket junk science. At this level, 40 dad and mom and caregivers have been exonerated for convictions that have been based mostly on shaken child syndrome. And final yr, the Texas Court docket of Prison Appeals truly overturned one other shaken child conviction. It had the identical pediatrician testifying as in Roberson’s case. Right here’s a quote from the court docket: ‘The admissible scientific testimony at trial immediately would seemingly justify an acquittal.’ When Nikki died, the docs and the lead detective, Brian Wharton, suspected Robert Roberson partially 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 best way most individuals do. This has change into a harrowing case for Brian Wharton. Even he now believes that Roberson is harmless. And he truly went to dying 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 truly 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, loads of docs checked out this case, they usually concluded that Nikki truly died of extreme pneumonia, which the docs missed in 2002. She was on medicine that made it even tougher for her to breathe. The docs additionally say that she had a uncommon blood-clotting illness, which might have led to her dying. Roberson’s legal professionals are asking for a brand new trial. However up to now, the Texas Court docket of Prison Appeals has not dominated on Roberson’s new proof of innocence. As an alternative, a decrease court docket granted the Texas legal professional basic’s request to set an execution date on Oct. 16. That’s the place we at the moment are. This case has gotten all snarled in native Texas politics. Ken Paxton, the legal professional basic, is pushing actually arduous for Roberson’s execution. And a number 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 manner 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 be sure that the courts rule in time earlier than Mr. Roberson is executed. And if he doesn’t, Mr. Roberson will die on Oct. 16. He can be the primary particular person executed in america based mostly on the analysis of shaken child syndrome.
