US EditionTexas court blocks execution of death row inmate Robert Roberson
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted Robert Roberson's execution pending a new trial, citing discredited shaken baby syndrome evidence and new scientific findings.
- Texas' highest criminal court has blocked Robert Roberson's execution and returned his capital murder conviction to trial court, stating that the science validating Nikki's shaken baby syndrome diagnosis is outdated.
- Roberson was convicted in 2003 for the death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki, and has always maintained his innocence.
- His attorneys argue that the scientific basis for his conviction is flawed, supported by Texas' 2013 junk science law and that his undiagnosed autism affected perceptions during the trial.
- Supporters, including lawmakers and public figures, are rallying for Roberson, believing in his innocence and urging for a new trial to reexamine the evidence against him.
185 Articles
185 Articles
Texas death row inmate Rob Roberson granted a stay of execution
Just days before his scheduled execution, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a stay to Rob Roberson, a Texas death row inmate convicted largely on the basis of discredited Shaken Baby Syndrome evidence.
The Texas court’s pause in Robert Roberson’s execution a few days before his death will likely generate new arguments and scrutiny on cases based on medical science and evidence for diagnosing shaken baby’s syndrome. Roberson would have been the first person in the country executed in a case related to shaken baby’s syndrome. He remains on death row for now, but the break in his execution — the third since 2016 — not only gives him more time, bu…
Texas Court Halts Execution of Robert Roberson, Convicted over “Shaken Baby Syndrome”
A court in Texas has halted the execution of Robert Roberson, whose 2003 murder conviction over the death of his 2-year-old daughter was based on the “shaken baby syndrome” theory, which has never been scientifically validated. On Thursday, a narrow 5-4 majority of Texas’s Court of Criminal Appeals granted Roberson’s request to stay his execution, citing a Texas law that allows for new trials in cases with flawed scientific evidence. The trial c…
Texas Appeals Court Again Pauses Execution of Robert Roberson in Shaken Baby Case
HOUSTON—Texas’ top criminal court on Thursday again paused the execution of Robert Roberson, just days before he was set to become the first person in the U.S. put to death for a murder conviction tied to a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome. This was the third execution date that Roberson’s lawyers have been able to stay since 2016, including one scheduled nearly a year ago due to an unprecedented intervention from a bipartisan group of Texas la…
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