‘Facing a Miscarriage of Justice Here’: Lawmakers, Experts, and Prominent Voices Speak Out in Support of Robert Roberson

On June 16, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked the trial court to schedule an execution date for Robert Roberson, an innocent man who was wrongfully convicted of the tragic 2002 death of his chronically ill toddler Nikki. This week, Mr. Roberson’s legal team filed an objection to the attorney general’s request, asserting numerous reasons why his execution should not be scheduled. Mr. Roberson’s application for habeas corpus relief, which presents a wealth of new evidence supporting his innocence, is presently pending before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

Mr. Roberson was wrongfully convicted on the basis of SBS, or “shaken baby syndrome” – a now discredited condition that has never been scientifically validated. In reality, Nikki suffered from a myriad of medical conditions since birth, and had developed pneumonia which made her more susceptible to internal bleeding and bruising.

Experts now agree that Nikki’s death was caused by a combination of factors, none of which have been considered by any court. At the time of her death, Nikki’s lungs were infected with two different forms of pneumonia (bacterial and viral), which starved her brain of oxygen and led to her death. Additionally, her body was found to have dangerously high levels of promethazine – a medication no longer prescribed to children Nikki’s age and in her condition, due to its respiratory-suppressing and fatal effects – authorized by two doctors in two days. The second drug she was prescribed was codeine, an opioid. Finally, Nikki’s CT scans were consistent with Mr. Roberson’s claim that she had fallen out of bed and might have hit her head because the scans show only a single, minor impact site where a small internal bleed began. The real problem was that she was profoundly ill and soon thereafter ceased breathing. 

As it has become increasingly clear that the case presented at trial was plagued with unscientific and inaccurate testimony, concerns about Mr. Roberson’s innocence have generated overwhelming support from across the country and indeed the world. Here are just a few of the experts, lawmakers, and public figures who have spoken out to try to prevent a miscarriage of justice in Mr. Roberson’s case:

Brian Wharton, the former lead detective who once claimed there was “unassailable doubt” of Mr. Roberson’s guilt, now believes he is innocent:

“We rushed to judgment. We were wrong, the jury was misinformed, and Robert is not guilty of any crime. If we are truly a nation of laws, a people who love justice in the most meaningful sense of that word, then Robert Leslie Roberson III must be set free.”

Dr. Phil strongly supported Mr. Roberson on multiple occasions in light of overwhelming exculpatory evidence that has never been heard in court:

“I am 100% convinced that we’re facing a miscarriage of justice here. I say that because I do not believe that Mr. Roberson has had due process in this case.” 

“There was a massive amount of outcome-determinative, exculpatory evidence that was never reviewed. It was never put in front of the jury. It was never heard.”

10 expert pathologists rejected the notion that Nikki died by homicide, instead citing her severe, undiagnosed chronic pneumonia as the cause in a joint statement:

“The conclusions regarding cause and manner of death . . .  could not withstand scrutiny in light of contemporary scientific understanding, because it is now known that many naturally occurring phenomena, such as infection, genetic disorders, and accidental short falls with head impact, can produce the same intracranial conditions once thought to be “diagnostic” of inflicted head trauma.

Dr. Michael Laposata, an expert in blood disorders, said medical records corroborate Mr. Roberson’s innocence:

“In Nikki Curtis’ case, her medical history, her father’s report of her accidental fall from the bed, her medical collapse, her clinical course in the hospital after her collapse, and her post-mortem results all are consistent with Nikki’s death due to her infection, the respiratory-suppressing medications she received in the days before her collapse, and her short fall, which caused her to become unresponsive.”

Dr. Keenan Bora, medical toxicologist and emergency medicine physician, attributed Nikki’s cause of death to a tragic combination of infection and harmful prescriptions:

The patient had a febrile illness, severe sepsis, or septic shock, due to either a bacterial or viral infection. She had evidence of a markedly elevated promethazine level, significantly outside of therapeutic concentrations, which may have contributed to respiratory depression and her death. She had multiple drugs which would have decreased her seizure threshold (made seizures more likely) as well as drugs which would have caused her to be uncoordinated and more likely to fall and hit her head.

Pediatric radiologist Dr. Julie Mack confirmed Mr. Roberson’s account of his daughter’s fall through CT scans:

The CT head findings in Nikki are consistent with a single impact event. The abnormal lung findings on admission are explained by the pathologic diagnosis of chronic viral lung disease with superimposed necrotizing bacterial pneumonia, which worsened during hospitalization. 

A bipartisan group of nearly 100 Texas legislators have openly supported Mr. Roberson’s innocence, no longer finding SBS admissible in court:

The fact is that the science has changed, and new evidence developed since 2016 not only contradicts the hypothesis the State relied on during Mr. Roberson’s 2003 trial but also provides a clear and plausible alternative medical diagnosis for Nikki’s actual cause of death. Yet the courts have not honored the law’s intent, closing the pathway to relief the Legislature created.

Terre Compton, a juror in the original trial, reflected on the hollow basis of Mr. Roberson’s conviction:

“Everything that was presented to us was all about shaken baby syndrome. That was what our decision was based on. Nothing else was ever mentioned or presented to us to consider.”