Robert Roberson

Mr. Roberson an autistic father, is at risk of being the first person in the U.S. executed based on the discredited “Shaken Baby” Hypothesis – unless Gov. Abbott or some court intervenes

Robert Roberson a Special Education student when he dropped out of school after the 9th grade and a person with autism spectrum disorder, is an innocent father who has spent over 20 years on death row in Texas for a crime that never occurred. In 2002, Mr. Roberson’s two-year old, chronically ill daughter, Nikki, was sick with a high fever and undiagnosed pneumonia and suffered a short fall from bed. 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 under the now-discredited Shaken Baby Syndrome hypothesis. Mr. Roberson would be the first person in the U.S. executed based on the debunked shaken baby hypothesis unless the courts or Governor Abbott intervenes. His execution is scheduled for October 17, 2024.

On September 17, 2024, Mr. Roberson filed a petition for clemency which contains new medical and scientific evidence showing that Nikki actually died of severe viral and bacterial pneumonia that medical professionals missed in 2002, not because of any abuse. Her illness progressed to sepsis and then septic shock, a process likely precipitated by the dangerous respiratory-suppressing medications she was prescribed during her last days, all of which has now been established by detailed reports from highly qualified medical specialists. To date, no court has been willing to consider three new expert reports showing how Nikki died of pneumonia, proof that Mr. Roberson is innocent of any crime. 

The compelling nature of Mr. Roberson’s innocence claim is attracting widespread, diverse, and growing support, including from 34 eminent scientists and doctors, a bipartisan group of 84 Texas legislators, 8 advocates for parental rights, 8 organizations that advocate for people with Autism and their families, faith leaders, innocence advocacy groups, former judges, 70 attorneys who have represented people wrongfully accused of child abuse, and best-selling novelist John Grisham. Brian Wharton, the lead detective in charge of investigating Nikki’s death who directed that Mr. Roberson be arrested based on a doctor’s Shaken Baby hypothesis made even before an autopsy was performed, and who testified for the prosecution at trial, has come to believe Mr. Roberson is innocent.