Robert Roberson was convicted of killing his two-year-old daughter in 2002.
Robert Roberson’s attorney, Gretchen Sween said she’s troubled by this week’s ruling, but she’s not giving up.
“There is much more fighting left to do,” said Sween.
A new execution date will now be set for Robert Roberson, a reality that leaves his attorney Gretchen Sween feeling distraught.
“I feel heartbroken, primarily for him. For instance, I couldn’t even be the first one to tell him the bad news because there’s no way to just simply pick up a phone and call your client on death row,” explained Sween.
In 2002, Roberson took his two-year-old daughter Nikki Curtis to the hospital the night she died.
He told staff they were sleeping in their Palestine home when he woke up and saw Nikki unresponsive, having fallen off the bed.
Doctors and nurses had suspicions of child abuse when Curtis arrived, doubting a short fall could have caused fatal injuries.
“Robert comes to the hospital, clutching his comatose child, and is judged immediately for not crying enough, for not showing the right kind of emotion. Now this is a guy with autism, but of course, the people in the hospital didn’t know that,” said Sween.
Roberson was arrested that day.
Doctors who testified at his trial said the toddler’s injuries were consistent with “shaken baby syndrome.”
Experts have since backtracked on the science used in part to win his conviction.
“It’s a debunked theory that has ruined many lives not just Robert’s family,” added Sween.
During his time on death row since 2003, Roberson has maintained his innocence, saying he never had the intent to harm his daughter.
Since 2003, his attorney has been working to prove that innocence, presenting 302 pages of new evidence.
“All this material and none of it is mentioned in the trial court’s 15 pages, so if that’s what the court of criminal appeals relied on, it couldn’t have relied on the new evidence. New evidence isn’t mentioned,” said Sween.
What’s next in Roberson’s case?
Sween said it’s very likely they will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
She said the soonest she’ll be able to speak with Roberson is Tuesday. She added that he’s religious and is holding onto his faith to help him through this."
The entire story can be read at:
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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