(Texas Scorecard) – After a failed attempt by some lawmakers to delay his execution last year, a new date has been set for convicted child murderer Robert Roberson. A state district judge on Wednesday scheduled Roberson’s execution for October 16, following a request by the Texas attorney general’s office.
Roberson was convicted in 2003 for the brutal killing of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in Palestine, Texas. He had been set to be executed last year. However, just moments before the sentence was to be carried out, the Texas Supreme Court issued a temporary stay after the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee—then led by Democrat State Rep. Joe Moody—subpoenaed Roberson to testify before the committee after his scheduled execution.
That maneuver, criticized by many—including Gov. Greg Abbott—as a violation of the separation of powers, was ultimately struck down by the Texas Supreme Court.
“In this case…actions by a single committee of a single chamber of the Legislature have had the effect, both legally and factually, of granting (at least) a 90-day reprieve,” Abbott’s brief to the court noted. “Unless the Court rejects that tactic, it can be repeated in every capital case, effectively rewriting the Constitution to reassign a power given only to the Governor.”
The Court agreed, ruling that while legislative committees may issue subpoenas, they cannot use that power to override a scheduled execution.
“We conclude that under these circumstances the committee’s authority to compel testimony does not include the power to override the scheduled legal process leading to an execution,” wrote Justice Evan Young.
Attorney General Ken Paxton says the move was an inappropriate attempt to interfere with justice on behalf of a convicted child killer.
In a report released by his office, Paxton laid out graphic details from the original case, citing trial evidence and testimony that Roberson repeatedly abused Nikki—striking her with his hands, a board, or a paddle—and ultimately killed her by inflicting massive blunt force trauma to her head. A nurse who examined Nikki at the hospital described a handprint on her face and the back of her head as “mushy” from the blows.
Paxton emphasized that, contrary to the claims of anti-death penalty activists and liberal media personalities who have rallied behind Roberson, the jury did not convict him based on “shaken baby syndrome,” but rather on clear evidence of blunt force injuries. He also highlighted a disturbing confession Roberson allegedly made to a fellow inmate, describing sexual abuse of his daughter and admitting to beating her out of anger.
Roberson’s own shifting accounts of what happened—including various claims that Nikki simply fell off the bed or hit a table—were also cited by prosecutors as evidence of his guilt.
While anti-death penalty activists have continued to claim Roberson is innocent, Paxton’s office has warned that allowing political interference at the final stage of a capital case sets a dangerous precedent.
“A handful of legislators have grossly interfered with the justice system by disregarding the separation of powers outlined in the State Constitution,” Paxton’s report states. “They have created a Constitutional crisis on behalf of a man who beat his two-year-old daughter to death.”
Unless further legal action is taken, Roberson is now scheduled to be executed on October 16.