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Texas sets execution date for man accused in shaken baby case

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Lawyers for Robert Robertson say the science used to sentence him to death is questionable and that prior health issues could explain the death of his 2-year-old daughter in 2003. A Texas court on Monday set an execution date for Robert Roberson, who was sentenced to death in 2003 for killing his 2-year-old daughter but has consistently challenged the conviction on the claim that it was based on questionable science.

Texas | Stop the Oct. 17 execution of Robert Roberson, sentenced to death for a crime that never happened

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Robert would be first person in the U.S. executed based on the discredited shaken baby syndrome hypothesis unless the courts or Gov. Abbott intervenes

Robert Roberson is an innocent father with autism who has spent over 20 years on death row in Texas for a crime that never occurred.

Mr. Roberson was committed to being a present father to his chronically ill two-year-old daughter Nikki when he was granted custody in November 2001. Tragically, Nikki passed away from prior medical conditions after a short fall from bed, and Mr. Roberson was wrongfully convicted of her death.

Mr. Roberson was a special education student when he dropped out of school after the ninth grade. He had undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder. 

Hospital staff did not know Mr. Roberson had autism and judged his response to his daughter’s grave condition as lacking emotion. 

Mr. Roberson was prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to death using a now-discredited version of the Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) hypothesis.

The overwhelming medical and scientific evidence now shows that Nikki died of accidental and natural causes. 

Mr. Roberson’s innocence case is attracting growing and widespread support from eminent scientists, doctors, faith leaders, innocence groups, former federal judges, best-selling novelist John Grisham, and the lead detective who testified for the prosecution, who now believes he contributed to an innocent person being sent to death row.

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The Innocence Project joined Mr. Roberson’s legal team because of the risk that an innocent man will be executed for a crime that never happened. Add your name to stop his execution on Oct. 17.

⚠️ Click HERE to sign the online petition 

Source: Innocence Project, Staff, July 2024

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde



Location: Texas, USA
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