Robert Roberson, who was sentenced to death for the murder of his daughter, has been given a last-minute reprieve by the US Supreme Court.
In an unprecedented turn of events, the execution of the first person to ever be convicted of the now debunked ‘shaken baby syndrome’, was granted a temporary hold late Thursday, October 19, following a day of back and forth between prosecutors, the Supreme Court of Texas, the US Supreme Court, and campaigners for Roberson’s release.
More than 20 years ago, Roberson was found guilty of the murder of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, based on the testimony from a paediatrician who described swelling and haemorrhages in her brain that supported a ‘shaken baby syndrome’ diagnosis, even though there was then little evidence that the actually syndrome existed.
Reprieve granted due to ‘junk science’ evidence
The diagnosis of Nikki’s body, now dubbed ‘junk science’ by many medical professionals, coupled with the fact that Roberson had not been diagnosed at the time of autism, causing him not to show any visual signs of remorse, swayed a Texas jury to return a guilty verdict.
Following a roller-coaster-ride of a day, a temporary hold order came through less than two hours before Roberson was scheduled to be executed. Shortly after, however, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reversed it, putting the execution back on track. In response, state lawmakers quickly requested a temporary stay by the state’s Supreme Court, which in the end they granted.
Post-mortem indicates Death Row dad innocent
A medical expert who performed a second post-mortem re-examined Nikki’s lung tissue and said they found that chronic viral pneumonia and acute bacterial pneumonia were damaging her lungs, causing sepsis and then septic shock, likely leading to vital organ failure and her eventual death.
In his plea to the Supreme Court to halt the execution, Roberson had argued that his federal due process rights had been violated when Texas’ highest court refused to consider his bid to reopen the case based on ‘substantial new scientific and medical evidence,’ that being that ‘shaken baby syndrome’ had been discredited by the medical community.
A legislative hearing at which Roberson is set to testify is scheduled for midday on Monday, October 21 in the Texas State Capitol.
