PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Well,My Dearest Friend and Brother Mr. Michael J. Zoosman,All L’Chaim Members,Times Of Israel, and to the Whole World And to All of Your Sweet and Precious Families and Loved Ones,l Want it to Be Made Known that l’m “Actually Innocent” for What l’m here for and What l’ve Been Accused and Convicted of Wrongly and Falsely,OK!!So l’m Wrongly and Falsely here for Something that’s Not even a Crime. l Want for the Whole World to know that My Sweet and Precious Angel Nikki,My Daughter Was Very Sick and ILL from Birth and All of her Whole Life,OK!!So l Do Remain Faithful and Obedient to The LORD,and l Do Stand Very Firm on My Truth, Which is Our Dear Almighty God’s Truth,For Justice and My Freedom,that My “Actual Innocence” is Proven Soon,In the Mighty and Precious Name of Our Dear Almighty God from Heaven,Amen!!!”
ROBERT ROBERSON:
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POST: "Testimony from Robert Roberson: An Innocent man Condemned to Death in Texas," by Chaplain Michael Zoosman, published by The Times of Israel, on September 14, 2023. (Cantor Michael Zoosman is a Board Certified Chaplain with Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains (NAJC) and received his cantorial investiture from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America in 2008. He sits as an Advisory Committee Member at Death Penalty Action and is the co-founder of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty.” Michael is a former Jewish prison chaplain and psychiatric hospital chaplain. Currently, he is a multi-faith hospital chaplain at a federal research hospital, the National Institutes of Health - Clinical Center. His comments here represent his own opinions.)
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GIST: "Mr. Robert L. Roberson, my yearslong pen pal, is an innocent man on Texas death row who lives with a diagnosis of autism and who now is in danger of execution.
The Lone Star State wrongfully convicted Robert of the murder of his beloved 2-year-old daughter Nikki Curtis, of blessed memory, in 2003.
This conviction was rendered using the disproven idea of “shaken-baby syndrome”.
Famed novelist John Grisham recently wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal about the gross – and potentially lethal – miscarriage of justice in Robert’s case in his powerful piece entitled Texas may Execute a man Based on a Scrapped Medical Theory, in which Grisham adroitly outlines the reasons for Robert’s innocence.
I also have written extensively about how Robert has been my pen pal for years now, how he is a gentle, kind soul, how he lives with a cognitive impairment that has been clearly evident in his many letters to me, and how the genuine, faithful and caring person that he is has shown through with every piece of correspondence he has sent me.
At his request, over the years I have conveyed his messages to the thousands of members of the group I co-founded – “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty”
One of Robert’s best remaining hopes for being spared execution now is that the U.S Supreme Court agrees to take up his case.
Given this vital moment for Robert and his loved ones, the world deserves to hear his own voice on this matter.
Robert shared this most recent message with me and the members of L’chaim! on Sept. 9th, 2023. He gives his permission to share it here:
“l Want You to know that You Really Do Brighten Up All of My Days and Nights Up So Very Much,OK!!:-):-) l Want You All to know that You All Are a Great Big Big Blessing to Me,and You Always Will Be! :-):-) I’m So Very Very Very Grateful,Honored,Blessed,Proud,Thankful,and So Very Happy to have You All in My Life!:-):-) Please Do Smile for Me Now, OK!! :-):-):-):-):-) l Want You All to know that l’m Always Thinking About You All,OK!!!:-):-):-)…Well ,l Would Wish and Pray for Every Divine Blessing Be Upon You All,and to All of Yours ,With Much Comfort,Peace,Strength,and Much Love to You All and All of Yours,OK!!:-):-):-) Well,My Dearest Friend and Brother Mr. Michael J. Zoosman,All L’Chaim Members,Times Of Israel, and to the Whole World And to All of Your Sweet and Precious Families and Loved Ones,l Want it to Be Made Known that l’m “Actually Innocent” for What l’m here for and What l’ve Been Accused and Convicted of Wrongly and Falsely,OK!!So l’m Wrongly and Falsely here for Something that’s Not even a Crime. l Want for the Whole World to know that My Sweet and Precious Angel Nikki,My Daughter Was Very Sick and ILL from Birth and All of her Whole Life,OK!!So l Do Remain Faithful and Obedient to The LORD,and l Do Stand Very Firm on My Truth, Which is Our Dear Almighty God’s Truth,For Justice and My Freedom,that My “Actual Innocence” is Proven Soon,In the Mighty and Precious Name of Our Dear Almighty God from Heaven,Amen!!!”
Robert’s words epitomize the innocence – both of character and of this alleged crime – that he has consistently demonstrated in his interactions with me and with all others he has met.
Consider the reflections below from one such person, Robert’s beloved wife Manuela Roberson:
“I met Robert through a pen pal. We both quickly realized that there was more to it and so I visited Robert on death row. When I saw him for the first time, I knew that this gentle giant with his gentle soul could never harm anyone. He asked me if I wanted to marry him and I said yes. We have been a married couple since April 2022. My husband is the great love of my life and I pray that I will not lose him.”
Even for individuals who support the death penalty, there is rightfully no tolerance for the execution of an individual who is innocent of the alleged capital crime.
The objective Death Penalty Information Center writes that, given the fallibility of human judgement, there has always been the danger that an execution could result in the killing of an innocent person.
Indeed, since 1973, at least 180 former death-row prisoners have been exonerated of the charges related to the wrongful convictions that had put them on death row. Just last week alone, New York exonerated and released Mr. Leonard Mack after 47 years of wrongful conviction.
The week prior, Oklahoma exonerated and released Mr. Glynn Simmons from death row after 48 years for a crime he did not commit. How many more innocent individuals must be released before society recognizes the fallibility of any justice system and stops the possibility of executing an innocent human being?
Jewish tradition, to be sure, forbids the execution of someone where there is any level of doubt about guilt or fairness.
It is for this very reason that Rabbinic tradition placed prodigious safeguards to ensure that no innocent person was put to death.
Arguably the most famous comment on the subject comes from one of the most renowned Jewish sages, the Rambam, Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, 1135-1204.
Maimonides, as he is often called, was a Sephardic Jewish physician and philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah scholars of the Middle Ages.
As he famously wrote of capital punishment in Sefer HaMitzvot, Prohibition 290: “It is better to acquit a thousand guilty persons than to put a single innocent one to death.”
Maimonides’ charge for protection of the innocent calls to mind another famous Jewish aphorism, one that is echoed as well in other traditions: “Whoever destroys a life, it is considered as if he destroyed an entire world. And whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world.” – Talmud, Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5
And so, the thousands of members of “L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty” join together from across the world to cry out that Texas should not put Robert L. Roberson, an innocent man, to death.
Instead, in Robert’s case, as in the case of all human beings, we vigorously chant……L’chaim: to Life!
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Cantor Michael J. Zoosman, MSM;
Board Certified Chaplain – Neshama: Association of Jewish Chaplains
Co-Founder: L’chaim! Jews Against the Death Penalty
Advisory Committee Member, Death Penalty Action
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The entire post can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
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/120008354894645705/47049136857587929
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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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater’s attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, “Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it’s the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.”
https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-1234880143/
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