Robert Roberson III: A Case of Shaken Baby Syndrome and the Quest for Justice
For the third time, Robert Roberson III is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection next month in Texas.
Roberson, 58, was convicted of capital murder in 2003 for reportedly shaking his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, to death. His prosecution relied on proving Nikki showed a triad of symptoms associated with “shaken baby syndrome,” a medical determination that has since come under wide scrutiny by scientists and doctors.
He has maintained his innocence for more than 20 years on death row and through two previous execution dates as he and his attorneys argue Nikki died of accidental and natural causes, including severe pneumonia and a fall from bed.
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Background of the Case
Before Roberson’s execution last fall was stayed at the eleventh hour, he had exhausted other avenues of relief through the courts, including a challenge to his conviction through Texas’ “junk science” law. The 2013 law allows people to challenge their convictions based on scientific evidence that was not available during trial.
According to the National Registry of Exonerations, more than 30 people who served time in prison after convictions involving shaken baby syndrome have been declared innocent. If his execution proceeds on Oct. 16, lawmakers have said Roberson will be the first person in the country to be put to death in such a case.
As the courts weigh their choices, others — including Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Nikki’s brother, Matthew Bowman — maintain the execution should be carried out.
Current Appeals
Here’s where his appeals stand.
Aug. 20: Pending Appeal Alleges ‘Judicial Misconduct’
In an appeal filed on Aug. 20 seeking to present new evidence to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Roberson’s attorneys alleged “new evidence of judicial misconduct.”
According to his attorneys, Anderson County officials unlawfully authorized taking Nikki off of life support without Roberson’s knowledge or consent — which they alleged was done to allow for his arrest.
In November 2001, following a custody lawsuit, Roberson was named Nikki’s “sole managing conservator,” which, under Texas law, gives a parent the exclusive legal right to make decisions about a child’s life, including their medical care.
When Nikki was brought to a Palestine hospital on Jan. 31, 2002, Roberson’s attorneys said he was not only presumed guilty of causing her condition, but he was also not consulted when she was transferred to Children’s Medical Center Dallas. When Roberson learned about it, he was then told he was “not allowed” to visit her, the appeal says.
Roberson and his legal team had believed hospital staff took the word of Nikki’s maternal grandparents when they said they had legal authority over Nikki. New evidence, however, shows that the hospital, per its protocol, contacted the Anderson County judiciary for confirmation of who could make end-of-life decisions, and that it was judiciary agents who provided “false information” that her grandparents held the authority, Roberson’s attorneys wrote in the filing.
“At the very least, public officials in Anderson County acted recklessly in misinforming CMCD and disregarding Robert’s parental rights,” they said.
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Feb. 19: Pending Application for Relief Cites New Examples of Controversy
In an application for relief filed in February, Roberson again asked the state’s highest criminal court to exonerate him — and if not, to grant him a new trial, or send his case back to district court for “further fact-finding” — based on new evidence his attorneys argue undermine the integrity of his conviction.
The appeal cited new examples of the controversy, including a joint statement from 10 independent pathologists “attesting to the unreliability of the cause and manner of death conclusions” in Nikki’s autopsy report.
Roberson’s lawyers have argued his daughter died of natural and accidental causes, including “severe, undiagnosed” pneumonia. According to court documents, she had a 104.5-degree fever days before she died; her medical history included chronic infections undeterred by multiple strains of antibiotics and “alarming breathing apnea spells.”
It also referenced the case of Andrew Wayne Roark, a Dallas County man who was cleared of wrongdoing in a shaken baby syndrome case late last year. In a news release announcing Roark’s exoneration, the Dallas County district attorney’s office said advancements in science and medicine no longer supported the prosecution’s theory at trial.
