Unless Texas Gov. Greg Abbott or the courts intervene, Robert Roberson will be executed on October 17. Roberson, who has autism, was sentenced to death in Texas 20 years ago for the death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki, who prosecutors said died of shaken baby syndrome, evidence of which has been debunked time and time again, and yet is still used to imprison and kill innocent people.
“The overwhelming medical and scientific evidence now shows that Nikki died of accidental and natural causes,” the Innocence Project states. Roberson was granted custody of Nikki, who was chronically ill, in November 2001. Nikki passed away from prior medical conditions after a fall from bed, and Roberson was wrongfully convicted of her death.
Roberson has wide-ranging support from scientists, doctors, faith leaders, innocence groups, former federal judges, the best-selling novelist John Grisham, and the lead detective who testified for the prosecution but now believes Roberson is innocent. The New York Times posted a powerful and beautifully written video documenting a meeting between the two men on death row. “There is unassailable doubt that Robert did it,” the detective says. As for Roberson, he says, “I just hope and pray that we can make things right together.”
If Abbott or the courts refuse to correct this egregious miscarriage of justice, Roberson would be the first person in the U.S. executed based on the discredited shaken baby syndrome hypothesis, according to the Innocence Project.
You can show your support for Robert Roberson by signing a petition asking Gov. Abbott to grant Roberson clemency here.