Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office has formally requested a new execution date for Robert Roberson, a death row inmate convicted more than 20 years ago in a “shaken baby” death case that some say was built on bad science.
Roberson, now 58, was convicted of capital murder in the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, in Palestine, Texas, as previously covered by The Dallas Express.
Medical experts at the time determined her symptoms “aligned” with “shaken baby syndrome,” a diagnosis Roberson’s attorneys have since called “junk science,” arguing that the toddler more likely died from natural causes, possibly pneumonia.
According to the Mayo Clinic, shaken baby syndrome (SBS) is defined as: “a serious brain injury that results from forcefully shaking an infant or a toddler. It also is known as abusive head trauma, shaken impact syndrome, inflicted head injury or whiplash shaken infant syndrome.”
Regardless of the seemingly continued updates on SBS, it is currently medically accepted that shaking a young child can damage or destroy their brain cells. This form of child abuse can cause permanent brain damage or death. Yet, identifying that abuse – and connecting it to a life sentence seems to be a much more disputed topic.
While Roberson was previously scheduled for execution in October of 2024, that date was legally stayed after a last-minute intervention pushed by his defense team and somewhat fringe advocate groups.
Now, with Paxton’s office taking over the State’s case against Roberson, prosecutors are pressing the Anderson County District Court to issue a new execution date, despite the inmate’s pending appeal.
Roberson’s legal team has objected to the motion, calling the renewed push for execution “outrageous” and legally unjustified while new evidence is still under review, per a recent Fox News report.
“Robert Roberson is innocent. Yet Attorney General Paxton, whose office just recently took over the State’s representation, is trying to execute him even though Robert has presented powerful new evidence of his innocence to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The AG’s unjustified rush to seek an execution date while that new evidence of innocence is before the court is outrageous,” Gretchen Sween, one of Roberson’s lawyers, told Fox.
His defense team has also argued that Roberson never received a fair trial, saying that the prosecution’s reliance on bad forensic data skewed his trial and claimed that other important medical facts were ignored. Sween and other advocates have tried to point to other cases, like that of Alan Butts in Ohio, who was exonerated after being wrongfully convicted under similar shaken baby claims.
As of the time of publication, Sween and the associated defense team have not responded to The Dallas Express’ inquiry for comment on the appeals process.
Roberson is now the only person on death row in America for a conviction based on a shaken baby syndrome diagnosis, according to TDEC records.
A collection of Texas lawmakers and fringe advocacy groups previously sought to delay Roberson’s execution, so he could testify before a committee investigating the case. Although the Texas Supreme Court later ruled that such testimony could proceed, Paxton’s office pushed back, allegedly due to security concerns.
Some relatives of the deceased child have also expressed frustration with the repeated delays in Roberson’s execution, per Fox News.
No new execution date has been set for Roberson as of the time of publication.
Yet, if the Anderson County District Attorney obtains a death warrant, the State would be required to wait at least 90 days before scheduling the execution for the death row inmate.