A man on death row in Texas, who was scheduled for execution on Thursday night, has received an extraordinary reprieve and is now set to testify before state lawmakers who believe he may have been wrongfully convicted of murdering his 2-year-old daughter.
Robert Roberson, 56, was convicted in 2002, with the prosecution’s case relying on a since-debunked understanding of shaken baby syndrome.
Roberson had been set to die by lethal injection, but his case is now being reviewed by lawmakers in the Republican-controlled Texas House of Representatives. They are considering whether to strengthen a state law that addresses convictions based on so-called “junk science.”
Roberson has consistently maintained that his daughter, Nikki, fell out of bed and stopped breathing shortly after. Days earlier, she had been diagnosed with a viral infection, and doctors had prescribed medicine that, according to medical experts, should not have been given to a child that young.
While medical experts have since noted that shaken baby syndrome can cause symptoms like those Nikki exhibited in her brain scans, they also acknowledge that these symptoms can appear in non-abuse cases.
Robert Roberson
Since Texas passed a 2013 law that allows for appeals if convictions relied on outdated or debunked scientific evidence, Roberson has repeatedly sought a new trial, but his requests had been denied.
However, on Wednesday, lawmakers voted to subpoena Roberson to testify before the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence. In response, on Thursday, a Texas judge issued an order staying the execution and preventing state officials from interfering with Roberson’s testimony.
Roberson is expected to appear at the state Capitol in Austin on Monday afternoon.
“This was an extraordinary maneuver by these Texas lawmakers, and it did the trick,” said Robin Maher, director of the Washington-based Death Penalty Information Center. “I hope that everyone involved in this case, especially state officials advocating for a new execution date, will reconsider their options.”
