If Robert Roberson is executed for the death of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, he will become the first inmate in U.S. history to be sentenced to death for a conviction based on shaken baby syndrome.
Some say shaken baby syndrome is “junk” science.
The former detective who initially helped convict Roberson now says he believes investigators succumbed to confirmation bias.
It is not unusual for death row inmates to maintain their innocence.
What is so unusual about Robert Roberson’s case is not just the number of people who believe in his innocence, but who those people are.
They include the lead detective who claims he botched the case, dozens of Republican lawmakers who have fought to block the planned execution in Texas, and best-selling author John Grisham, who believes in Roberson’s innocence and is writing a nonfiction book.
“I’m trying to raise awareness about this incredible injustice and this slowly unfolding train wreck that we’re seeing right now,” Grisham told USA TODAY. “When I see something like this, it’s very disturbing.”
Roberson, 58, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection in Texas on Thursday, October 16, for the death of his 2-year-old daughter Nikki in 2002. Roberson’s conviction was based on shaken baby syndrome, which has since been largely debunked as junk science.
If Roberson is executed, Republican state Rep. Jeff Leach said, “It would be an irreparable stain on our state’s history.” The Texas Attorney General’s Office, which has been pushing for an execution date since Roberson won an 11-hour detention last year, stands by the decision and says justice will be served.
Here’s what you need to know about the case and more from those fighting for Roberson’s life and a new trial.
What was Robert Roberson convicted of?
Roberson was convicted of killing his daughter Nikki in 2002 at their home in Palestine, a small city in east Texas.
Ms. Roberson reported hearing Nikki crying and realizing she had fallen out of bed. After soothing her, they both went back to sleep. Later, when Ms. Roberson woke up again, she noticed that Nicky was not breathing and her lips were blue. In the emergency room, doctors observed symptoms consistent with brain death, and he was pronounced dead the next day.
Doctors and investigators at the time jumped to the conclusion that Nikki died of shaken baby syndrome, even though Nikki had several serious medical conditions. Nikki had pneumonia in both lungs, undiagnosed sepsis, and was taking prescription opioids, which are currently prohibited for children.
The jury sentenced Roberson to death and sentenced him to death.
If the execution goes ahead, Roberson would become the first inmate in U.S. history to be put to death for a conviction related to shaken baby syndrome.
The lead detective on the case: “We were wrong.”
Brian Wharton, the lead investigator in the Roberson case, told USA TODAY that confirmation bias and several misconceptions led him to believe Roberson killed his daughter.
As an example, when Roberson took Nikki to the hospital, nurses, doctors, and investigators observed that he seemed emotionless, something Wharton considered at the time to be a red flag but now understands to be common behavior in autistic people like Roberson.
Investigators rejected Wharton’s account that Nikki fell out of bed that night, and Wharton said medical staff did not disclose other symptoms she had.
“We were wrong,” he said. “The system misidentified you because you had incomplete and incorrect information.”
Since then, Wharton has personally apologized to Roberson and has met monthly on Texas’ Death Row in Livingston, just north of Houston.
“We’re talking about our lives, our faith, our families, our hopes,” Wharton said, adding that Roberson believes in his faith and is “comfortable” with the execution, but “doesn’t have to be.”
“I’m really upset that he has to think like that,” Wharton said. He has agreed to be a witness if the execution proceeds.
“I’m there for him. I’m partially responsible for him being there,” Wharton said. “I don’t know how you can say no. He’s my friend.”
Republican lawmakers fight for Roberson: ‘This shouldn’t be controversial’
Among those who have fought for Roberson’s reprieve are conservative state lawmakers who support the death penalty but believe in Roberson’s innocence.
Two of them, Rep. Jeff Leach and Rep. Lacey Hull, met with Mr. Roberson on Wednesday, October 8, at the prison where he is being held in north Houston. Leach then told USA TODAY that he hugged Roberson for about 30 seconds and prayed while holding hands in a circle with Hull, two Democrats, a pastor and the director’s assistant.
“None of us would argue that Robert should be walking the streets tomorrow,” Leach said. “All we are asking for is a pause button and a new trial, but this execution seems murderous.”
The Republican said Roberson’s request stands out among the many requests that lawmakers receive from death row inmates to reconsider cases.
“It’s not just one thing that was wrong, it’s not just one bit of evidence, it’s not just one witness whose testimony has been discredited, it’s been at literally every step of the way from the moment he took her to the emergency room to this day,” Leach said. “The system failed him and Nikki at virtually every turn. It’s a complete system failure.”
He added: “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Conservative groups such as Texas Right to Life and Crime Stoppers of Houston also oppose Roberson’s execution.
John Grisham: “Roberson never had a chance”
Mr. Grisham, a defense attorney before writing best-selling legal thrillers such as “A Time to Kill,” “The Client” and “The Firm,” has followed Mr. Roberson’s case as part of his involvement as director of the Innocence Project in New York.
In recent years, Grisham has stepped up his opposition to Roberson’s execution, writing op-eds and writing a nonfiction book scheduled to be published next year, depending on how the case unfolds.
“If he miraculously stays again and somehow comes back to court…the perfect ending for me would be to see Robert walk away acquitted,” Grisham told USA TODAY.
As part of his research for the book, Grisham reviewed thousands of pages of court documents spanning decades in the Roberson case.
“He became a suspect right away… Robert never had the opportunity to have a fair trial,” Grisham told USA TODAY. “He was guilty from the first moment.”
Grisham flew to Texas three weeks ago to meet Roberson and will remain in prison if the execution proceeds.
“He’s a very sweet guy,” Grisham said. “My reaction when I left was one of sadness. This poor guy has been here 20 years. Look at what was taken from him.”
State officials support execution
The Texas Attorney General’s Office supported Roberson’s conviction and execution in multiple court filings, arguing that Nikki had other injuries beyond what the shaking could have caused, that shaken baby syndrome is not junk science, and that the level of involvement by lawmakers in the case was inappropriate.
Mr. Roberson “brutally murdered his own child,” the attorney general’s office alleged in one court filing. “What we can infer from the evidence is that the night Nikki died, she was crying because her mother wasn’t there. When she wouldn’t stop crying, Roberson shook little Nikki to make her stop crying, as he had done many times before.”
They cited testimony from two girls who were at Roberson’s home and said they had earlier seen Roberson wave to Nikki.
Gretchen Sween, Roberson’s attorney, countered that the state’s position is a lie and a manipulation of facts, and that it stems from politicians trying to be tough on crime for their constituents.
“The question should not be about who can incite people, but what the objective medical evidence shows,” she said. “So if you think there’s still a case, Texas, why don’t you get a new trial? Why are they putting him on a stretcher?”
Last year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton posted in a social media thread that Rep. Jeff Leach was among those lying about Roberson’s case, criticizing his “eleventh-hour unilateral extrajudicial stunt” to block Roberson’s execution.
“A small number of legislators grossly interfered with the judicial system in disregard of the separation of powers established in the state constitution,” Paxton wrote. “They created a constitutional crisis because of a man who beat his 2-year-old daughter to death.”
What could stop Robert Roberson from being executed?
Certain appeals are pending before both the Court of Criminal Appeals and the 5th District Court of Appeals, and each court could decide at any time whether to halt Roberson’s execution or allow it to proceed.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott cannot stop executions completely, but he can grant a 30-day moratorium to give courts time to consider the case. His office did not respond to USA TODAY’s request for comment.
Amanda Lee Myers is a senior crime reporter who covers executions for USA TODAY. Follow her on X at @amandaleeusat.
