LIVINGSTON, Texas (AP) — robert roberson He remained calm and hopeful as he pondered his possible death and whether he could once again avoid being executed in the United States for a murder conviction related to his murder diagnosis. shaken baby syndrome.
There are a few days left until his appointment. Execution on October 16thRoberson has pleaded not guilty in the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in the east Texas city of Palestine. Roberson is scheduled to die by lethal injection while he waits outside the death chamber in Huntsville, nearly a year after a group of Texas lawmakers who maintain he is innocent secured an unusual last-minute reprieve in court.
Roberson said he is putting his hope in the hands of his lawyers, supporters and God to stop another execution.
“I’m not going to stress out or do anything about it, because I know that God has it. God is in control. Whatever happens, God is in control, and God has the final say,” Roberson, 58, told The Associated Press last week, sitting behind a glass bulkhead in the visiting area of Livingston’s Polunsky Unit, which houses a Texas man on death row.
In an hour-long interview, Roberson said she thinks about her daughter every day and what kind of life she will have today.
At Roberson’s trial in 2003, prosecutors argued that Roberson beat and violently shook her daughter, causing severe head trauma and causing her death from injuries related to shaken baby syndrome. Roberson’s lawyers and some medical experts maintain that her daughter died from complications related to pneumonia, not abuse. They argue that his conviction was based on flawed and now outdated scientific evidence.
The diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome refers to severe brain damage that occurs when a child’s head is injured by a shaking or violent impact, such as being slammed against a wall or thrown on the floor.
Roberson’s lawyers argued that Roberson’s undiagnosed autism led to his conviction because authorities and medical personnel felt that Roberson’s flat emotional state was seen as a sign of guilt and that he was not behaving like a concerned parent.
Last-minute suspension of execution
Last year, Mr. Roberson was on the verge of the death penalty for a series of incidents. Last-minute legal maneuvers the night of his scheduled execution, unprecedented intervention by a bipartisan group of Texas state legislators. did not stop his lethal injection. in julythe judge set a new execution date for Roberson’s third death.
During interviews with The Associated Press, Roberson frequently did not make eye contact and often repeated words or phrases. Experts say this behavior is linked to autism.
“They thought I was (guilty) because of my actions, and I didn’t know I was autistic until years later,” said Roberson, who wasn’t diagnosed with autism until 2018.
Mr. Roberson’s supporters and attorneys have again rallied to ask state and federal appeals courts and Texas Governor Greg Abbott to halt the execution. His supporters include both Liberal and ultra-conservative membersTexas Republican Party megadonor and conservative activist Doug Deason, best-selling author John Grisham, and former detective Brian Wharton, who helped put together the case against him.
“The whole world is watching. Texas, please don’t kill this innocent man,” Wharton said Saturday at a rally outside the Texas State Capitol in Austin.
Attorney General claims Nikki died from child abuse
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office, some medical experts and Nikki’s family say the girl died from child abuse and that Roberson had a history of beating her.
“It took a long time. … In my opinion, he did 100 percent,” Nikki’s half-brother Matthew Bowman told reporters in July. Bowman declined to speak to The Associated Press.
Mr. Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Abbott has the authority to grant a one-time 30-day grace period.
Roberson said he has never hurt his daughter and has tried to turn his life around and take care of Nikki after serving time in prison for robbery and check theft.
“I never shook or hit my daughter,” Roberson said, adding that he never disciplined her “because she was so young.”
Shaken baby syndrome has gained attention in recent years, with some lawyers and medical experts arguing that the diagnosis is dangerous. Erroneous transmission people to prison. with the prosecutor medical society He says it remains valid.
“What happened to Nikki is no longer a mystery. She was not shaking. Her chronic and serious health conditions were the cause,” Gretchen Sween, one of Roberson’s attorneys, said at Saturday’s rally. “No crime has occurred.”
However, in a September 26th editorial in The magazine, dallas morning newsThree pediatricians, including two from Yale University School of Medicine, reviewed the case and said, “We are convinced that Nikki is a victim of child abuse.”
Roberson says he’s optimistic he’ll get a chance to prove his innocence
Roberson was arrested after taking Nikki, who fell out of bed and became unresponsive, to the hospital. He said he had never heard of shaken baby syndrome.
“Losing my daughter was bad enough, and I couldn’t believe it when they accused me,” Roberson said.
In a press release issued after Roberson’s execution was postponed last year and in a recent court filing, Paxton’s office emphasized that “this was not just a case of a shaken baby; it involved a child who was beaten and hit multiple times in the head.” Paxton’s office said the jury “did not find Roberson guilty based on ‘shaken baby syndrome.'”
But Tere Compton, one of the jurors who convicted Roberson, told lawmakers last year: “Everything that was presented to us was about shaken baby syndrome. That was the basis of our verdict.”
Grisham, who is writing a book about the case, said Roberson’s trial was “grossly unfair” because Roberson’s autism contributed to people believing he was guilty and because Roberson’s defense attorney told jurors it was shaken baby syndrome.
Roberson said he is optimistic he will one day have a chance to prove his innocence in a new trial.
“I’m not afraid of dying, but I’m not ready to die. I want to believe that God has more things for me to do and more,” Roberson said.
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