A man who has spent more than two decades on death row is planned to be scheduled for execution via lethal injection today (17 October) after a petition for clemency was denied.
On 31 January, 2002, Robert Roberson, 57, attended an emergency room with his two-year-old daughter Nikki, who he says had fallen out of bed at their home in Palestine, East Texas, earlier in the evening.
Court documents claim that Nikki wasn’t breathing at the time of her admittance and had a 'blue color to her skin', The Guardian reports.
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It was also reported that there was bruising on Nikki’s face and a subdural haematoma, as well as serious head injuries.
Despite resuscitation attempts, she was later pronounced dead. Roberson's alleged lack of emotion surrounding the situation was also supposedly noticed by doctors - leading them to contact police.
Prosecutors claimed this was a case of 'shaken baby syndrome' (SBS)—a serious brain injury that occurs when a baby is shaken violently, as per Mayo Clinic.
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SBS destroys a child’s brain cells and prevents their brain from getting enough oxygen, with symptoms including extreme irritability, poor eating, pale skin and seizures, however, the condition has largely been discredited within the medical field, ABC News says.
Despite Roberson's insistence that his daughter's injuries were caused by falling out of bed, he was arrested and convicted for Nikki's death in 2003 - however, he has continuously maintained his innocence.
However, new evidence claimed that Nikki had instead died as a result of 'severe, undiagnosed pneumonia', which is said to have caused her collapse and for her skin colour to change.
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According to a report from The Texas Tribune, his attorneys pointed out the medications she had been prescribed - Phenergan and codeine - which are no longer considered safe for children, prior to her death.
The officer who arrested Roberson also said he believes 'something went very wrong' in the case and he'd come to believe that Nikki 'died of accidental and natural causes'.
However, the BBC reports that prosecutors insisted this evidence didn't disprove their case that Nikki had died from injuries sustained from her father.
And yesterday (Wednesday, October 16), the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected calls for clemency, and Roberson's execution remained scheduled for today at 6pm at the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville.
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However, Roberson’s attorneys are now appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay of execution, claiming their client was denied due process and that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declined to hear additional evidence to prove his innocence, as per CNN.
Meanwhile, Texas has urged the Supreme Court in a filing to deny Roberson’s emergency appeal, CNN further reports.
Officials claimed that he was given 'the means and the opportunity to make claims, marshal evidence in support of his cause, and address the adverse evidence adduced against him'.
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“The record shows that the state habeas proceedings adequately complied with due process.” it continues.
However, the continuation of his execution is currently being debated after Texas House committee subpoenaed Roberson to testify while they reconsider his case.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has not announced whether Roberson's execution has officially been delayed as a result, but they are discussing 'appropriate next steps' with the state attorney general's office, CNN says.
If Roberson’s execution does go ahead, his death will be the 19th execution in 2024.
LADbible has contacted The Texas Department of Criminal Justice for comment.
Topics: Crime, World News, Death Row
Ella Scott