On November 25, Deborah Oakes Evans, the judge who previously signed a death warrant for Robert Roberson, stepped down from the case. This is the latest twist in a series of legal wranglings around Roberson’s fate.
Roberson has maintained his innocence in the death of his 2-year-old daughter for over 22 years. He was convicted of murder based on a highly disputed “shaken baby syndrome” diagnosis, which even some who testified to his guilt now doubt. A large part of the investigation was conducted because Roberson was perceived to have reacted “incorrectly” to his daughter’s death: a gross injustice, as Roberson is autistic.
The ruling held that a bi-partisan legislative subpoena for Roberson’s testimony issued the previous month by the House Jurisprudence Committee could not supersede a scheduled execution, paving the way for the state to set another execution date.
Supporters haven’t lost hope, however. They plan to use the time bought from this legal maneuver to push for a new trial and advocate for the Texas Supreme Court of Criminal Appeals to reexamine the evidence in Roberson’s case.
If his execution is carried out, Robert Roberson would be the first person in U.S. history executed based on “shaken baby syndrome.” His case for innocence has won supporters from across the world, including medical experts, doctors, former judges, and even award-winning author John Grisham. They maintain that the diagnosis given to Roberson’s daughter is no longer supported by scientific evidence, and they hope to challenge Roberson’s conviction based on a so-called “junk science” law passed in Texas in 2013 that allows convictions to be contested based on scientific advances.
‘A crime that never occurred’
The incident that led to Roberson’s conviction and death sentence occurred in 2002 in Palestine, Texas, after Roberson’s chronically-ill daughter Nikki fell ill with pneumonia. When it became clear that her condition wasn’t improving, Robert and his mother brought Nikki to the emergency room. She was prescribed promethazine, a drug that can impair children’s ability to breathe and is no longer prescribed to young children. Dr. Keenan Bora, a medical toxicology expert, later determined that the levels of promethazine in her system were dangerously high.
Days later, Nikki was again rushed to the hospital after she fell from her bed and her body turned blue. Hospital staff became suspicious of Roberson, believing there was something off about the way he appeared to show no grief as his daughter was losing her life. What they didn’t realize at the time was that Roberson was autistic and his reaction was not unusual for someone on the autism spectrum.
It wouldn’t be until much later, in 2018, that Roberson finally received a proper evaluation and was given an autism diagnosis. By that time he had long been tried and convicted, painted by prosecutors as cold and remorseless based on split-second reactions, and sentenced to death.
To activists, it is now clear that no crime ever occurred that night: that Nikki was not killed as a result of a violent shaking episode and in all likelihood died as a result of sepsis. Medical and legal experts alike have made the case that the courts refused to consider not only scientific advances, but completely failed to take into account the evidence of Nikki’s sickly condition and prescribing of medication known to be deadly for children in her condition.
There is historical precedent for convictions based on shaken baby syndrome being overturned. Around the country, courts have dropped charges in cases involving the syndrome, and at least 32 people have been exonerated. Of the eight people sentenced to death, two have been exonerated. Roberson is the only one of the eight who has ever received an execution date.
The people’s struggle delays the execution, but the fight’s not over
Over the summer, after an execution date was set, Roberson’s supporters went into high gear, putting pressure on legislators to stop the impending execution. When the date finally arrived, protesters assembled outside the Huntsville Walls Unit where the execution was set to take place, determined to keep the pressure up until the very end. There to witness the execution at Roberson’s request were his wife Manuela, friends David and Linda Snyder and the former assistant chief of Palestine Police Department who initially investigated the case, Brian Wharton. Wharton’s 2003 testimony helped sentence Roberson to death. Since that time, he has reexamined the evidence and completely reversed his position, declaring, “I am convinced that Mr. Roberson is innocent.”
Protesters arrived in front of the Unit around 4 pm with the execution scheduled for 6 pm. At the same time, a legal battle was unfolding. With two hours to go, Texas lawmakers argued before a Travis County judge that Roberson’s testimony was crucial to the House Committee’s hearing on the “junk science” law. The judge issued a temporary restraining order, delaying the execution. Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office immediately appealed this ruling to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which proceeded to overturn the previous judge’s ruling, allowing the execution to go forth.
The legislative committee had one more option: appeal the CCA’s ruling to the Texas Supreme Court. The highest court ultimately sided with the legislators around 10 pm, two hours before the execution order was set to expire. It is believed that this was the first time in Texas history that a high court’s ruling blocked an execution approved by another high court.
Battles to save the wrongly convicted often appear as legal quibbles. But it should be clear: the people’s movement for justice – both the mobilization in the streets, and the coordinated pressure against legislators – was what forced the legislators and the courts to act.
The fight to save Roberson continues
The Nov. 15 Texas Supreme Court ruling that a legislative subpoena could not supersede a scheduled execution means that a judge can set an execution date sometime in the near future. As of now, Roberson still hasn’t testified in front of the House Committee due to roadblocks thrown in the way by Ken Paxton’s office.
“We will continue to seek out avenues to get relief for Robert in the form of a new trial,” said Roberson’s attorney Gretchen Sween. “But the only obvious way that can happen at this time is through the [Texas Court of Criminal Appeals], which has not been inclined to look at the new evidence.”
Time is running out, and it’s up to the people of Texas and the world to build up enough pressure on the Court of Appeals to examine the new evidence and stop this irreversible injustice from taking place.
