Texas execution related to shaken baby syndrome death is pending in litigation

The length of the stay was not specified, but Supreme Court Justice Evan Young wrote in his opinion that the lower court should act quickly. “The district court should proceed to the underlying issues with the utmost expediency, pending review by this court,” he wrote.

Amanda Hernandez, communications director for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, told reporters that Roberson was “shocked, to say the least.” He praised God and thanked his supporters.”

Hernandez said Roberson has been returned to his unit and that she has no timeline for next steps. “He was given a stay for tonight. We’ll have to see what happens after that,” she said.

Legal Efforts

The Supreme Court's order comes after a day of legal attempts to stay the execution.

With just hours left, Travis County Judge Jessica Mangrum issued a temporary restraining order in favor of state lawmakers, who late Wednesday took the unusual step of issuing a subpoena for Roberson to testify about his case at a hearing next week – a move that was intended to prevent execution on Thursday.

However, the attorney general's office quickly appealed to the state's highest criminal court and won. That then prompted lawmakers to petition the Texas Supreme Court to stop the execution.

Gov. Greg Abbott could have granted a request from Roberson's legal team for a 30-day reprieve, but did not.

Early Thursday, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an attempt to stay Roberson's execution.

Judge Sonia Sotomayor wrote in a statement that she respected the denial because the appeal had no basis in a federal lawsuit and essentially left it up to the governor to decide. But to show her support, she wrote, “Few cases require such relief more urgently than one in which the defendant has seriously demonstrated his actual innocence, as Roberson has done here.”

On Wednesday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously rejected a clemency recommendation for Abbott, who has the authority to commute death sentences. The board did not immediately explain why it made that decision, and Abbott has not publicly indicated what, if anything, he might do.

A petition with more than 116,000 signatures calling on Abbott to stop the execution was submitted to his office this week.

Roberson's attorney, Gretchen Sween, said the case has received significant support, including from dozens of renowned scientists and doctors, a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers, parental rights advocates and organizations that support people with autism.

The Texas House committee that issued the subpoena held a hearing Wednesday that featured testimony from medical experts and a retired lead investigator in the case who has since advocated for his release.

“This is, without a doubt, an innocent man,” Brian Wharton, the former detective, told state lawmakers.

In an interview from prison with NBC News anchor Lester Holt this month, Roberson called on Abbott to pardon him because “I'm innocent.”

“Look at the support I have, Mr. Governor, and I just hope and pray that you do the right thing,” he said.

Nikki's death

Roberson said that early on January 31, 2002, he woke up in his East Texas home to a “strange scream” and found Nikki falling out of bed. He comforted her and the family went back to sleep, according to court documents.

But hours later, Roberson said, he woke up to find Nikki wasn't breathing and her lips looked blue. He took her to an emergency room, where doctors concluded she was showing signs of brain death. She was pronounced dead the next day.

Roberson showed little emotion in the hospital, increasing law enforcement's suspicions. Within a day, Wharton, a Palestine police officer, arrested Roberson for murder.

Wharton testified against Roberson at his trial. Prosecutors stressed that they believed Roberson intentionally shook Nikki, causing bruising and blunt force trauma, and that he appeared almost emotionless as he took her to the hospital.

Roberson has attributed his “seemingly blank reaction” to the autism spectrum disorder, which he was diagnosed with in 2018. Additionally, at his trial, his defense attorneys were not permitted to have a medical expert testify about his claims of “mental lapses” caused by a brain injury.

The jury also never heard how Nikki had been unwell since the day she was born or how she had been hospitalized more than 40 times in her short life. Two days before her death, she reported a fever of 104.5 degrees at the doctor's office. She was sent home with a drug that has since been deemed too dangerous for children — a drug that now carries a “black box warning” from the Food and Drug Administration.

“Shaked Baby Syndrome”

Roberson has steadfastly maintained his innocence in his daughter's death after doctors and law enforcement quickly ruled she was killed as a result of a violent shaking attack.

Prosecutors argued that Nikki must have been shaken to death because she was diagnosed with the “triad” – a swollen and bleeding brain and a retinal hemorrhage – symptoms that were once considered indisputable evidence of shaken baby syndrome.

However, since Roberson's conviction in 2003, the scientific basis for the triad being the only diagnosis of abuse has come under intense scrutiny.

In 2009, the American Academy of Pediatrics changed the name “Shaked Baby Syndrome” to the broader definition of “Abusive Head Trauma” to include injuries caused by mechanisms other than shaking alone.

There is now a consensus in medicine that other illnesses, including infections, accidental trauma and pre-existing conditions, can also cause the symptoms associated with shaken baby syndrome.

Hundreds of cases of possibly shaken babies and abusive head injuries are reported to U.S. hospitals each year, according to a nonprofit advocacy group.

While there have been criminal cases related to such injuries that have resulted in convictions, the review of medical testimony has also led to reversals.

Since 1992, at least 34 defendants have subsequently been exonerated on allegations of shaken baby syndrome or abusive head trauma, according to the National Registry of Exonerations, which tracks penalties for wrongful convictions.

“Junk Science” law

Texas nearly executed Roberson in 2016, but stopped the execution days before so another evidentiary hearing could take place. Ultimately, his request for a new trial was denied last year.

Anderson County prosecutors continue to insist in court filings that Nikki was murdered and Roberson is to blame, arguing that his defense “has raised the same tired questions that this court and others have already challenged in recent habeas proceedings.” , including junk science, disease process, etc.” actual innocence. All were rejected.”

In 2013, Texas passed a “junk science” law that gives inmates the ability to challenge convictions based on advances in forensic science or other changes that were not available at the time.

That law — and whether it is properly applied — will be part of Monday's House hearing at which Roberson is expected to testify, Texas Reps. Lacey Hull, a Republican, and John Bucy, a Democrat, said after the execution was stayed on Thursday became .

“It’s bigger than him,” Bucy said. He and Hull said they believe Roberson is innocent.

Bucy did not know whether Roberson will appear before lawmakers in person or remotely. He said there are still options in this case.

“There are still many people who can take action in this case, from the governor to the courts to the parole board,” he said.