PASSAGE OF THE DAY: ""Two decades ago, a Texas man was put on death row for the murder of his toddler. Now, the retired police detective who helped put him there is trying to save his life. Robert Roberson, 56, of Palestine, Texas, was convicted in 2003 in the death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki. Police and medical experts who testified against him said the child died from shaken baby syndrome, a fatal brain injury derived from violently shaking an infant. But the science around this syndrome has evolved, and the way it's been employed in the courts has come under increased scrutiny. What's more, new evidence has emerged suggesting Nikki, in fact, died from illness. Now Brian Wharton — who was the lead detective on the case, and testified against Roberson — is convinced he helped convict an innocent man."
——————————————————————————
PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "At the time of Roberson's conviction, the diagnosis required three simultaneous criteria: bleeding over the brain, brain swelling, and bleeding in the eyes. "That triad was taken to mean child abuse," said Dr. Roland Auer, a University of Saskatchewan professor of pathology and laboratory medicine who signed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court calling for a judicial review of Roberson's case. But since then, several studies have cast doubt on the science behind this phenomenon. Leading experts remain strongly divided on how to define it, how to diagnose it, or whether it even exists. More than 30 convictions related to the condition have been overturned in the U.S., according to the National Registry of Exoneration. Last month, an appeals court judge in New Jersey ruled that the theory was "junk science." Scientists have identified several non-violent causes that could potentially cause the trio of symptoms linked to the syndrome, including short falls or underlying illnesses. Auer, who often testifies on behalf of the defence in criminal trials centred on shaken baby syndrome, reviewed Nikki's autopsy and medical records. He found that before she died, she'd been ill with a fever and had undiagnosed pneumonia. That, he says, is what killed her. "She was infected. So kids are infected and dying, and resuscitation produces haemorrhage, and parents are going to jail for it or being executed, as is Robert Roberson's predicament," he said. "I think a person's life is important enough to go to the Supreme Court and get it right. We've just got to get this right."
-----------------------------------------------------------
STORY: "Man on death row for toddler's murder a victim of bad science, say his defenders," by Reporter Sheena Goodyear, published by CBC Rao, on October 6, 2023. (Sheena Goodyear is a web journalist with CBC Radio's As It Happens in Toronto. She is equally comfortable tackling complex and emotionally difficult stories that hold truth to power, or spinning quirky yarns about the weird and wonderful things people get up to all over the world. She has a particular passion for highlighting stories from LGBTQ communities. Originally from Newfoundland and Labrador, her work has appeared on CBC News, Sun Media, the Globe & Mail, the Toronto Star, VICE News and more. )
SUB-HEADING: "Shaken baby syndrome, or abusive head trauma, has come under increased scrutiny in recent years."
PHOTO CAPTION: "Robert Roberson, a Texas death row inmate convicted of murdering his two-year-old daughter Nikki, is pictured here with her in October 2001. His lawyer is fighting to have his conviction overturned in light of new evidence and studies that have called into question the reliability of forensics related to 'shaken baby syndrome.’
GIST: "Two decades ago, a Texas man was put on death row for the murder of his toddler. Now, the retired police detective who helped put him there is trying to save his life.
Robert Roberson, 56, of Palestine, Texas, was convicted in 2003 in the death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki.
Police and medical experts who testified against him said the child died from shaken baby syndrome, a fatal brain injury derived from violently shaking an infant.
But the science around this syndrome has evolved, and the way it's been employed in the courts has come under increased scrutiny. What's more, new evidence has emerged suggesting Nikki, in fact, died from illness.
Now Brian Wharton — who was the lead detective on the case, and testified against Roberson — is convinced he helped convict an innocent man.
"Regardless of how this ends, that will follow me for the rest of my life," Wharton told As It Happens host Nil Köksal.
Fate in the hands of Texas governor
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined Roberson's petition to have his case re-examined. The court offered no explanation for its decision, which is standard procedure.
"We are devastated that the judicial system has so far failed to address this wrong considering the dramatic change in scientific understanding since he was summarily accused and convicted," Gretchen Sween, Roberson's lawyer, said in an email to CBC.
"The fight, however, will continue."
Roberson's only chance for freedom now is to be granted clemency by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
"I refuse to give up on the notion that it's possible," Wharton said. "I've just not seen anything from this current state governance that would tend to indicate they are, in the least, inclined to mercy."
The governor's office did not respond to a request for comment.
Sween says she's working with the Innocence Project, a non-profit dedicated to overturning wrongful conditions, "to shed light on this travesty of justice."
Undiagnosed autism
In February 2002, Roberson brought his daughter to the emergency room saying she'd fallen out of bed and lost consciousness.
Pediatricians found evidence of brain swelling. Roberson was the only person with her when she lost consciousness, so he became the obvious suspect, Wharton said.
It didn't help that during questioning, Roberson behaved in a way officials found baffling, according to Wharton.
"He was just very flat," Wharton said. "He was not responding emotionally, as you would expect someone whose child was in such desperate straits to be responding."
Roberson has since been diagnosed with autism. Wharton believes his condition — unknown to jurors at the time — played a role in his conviction.
"I would imagine a jury looking at him and seeing him entirely unemotional during the process had to have some impact," he said.
Changing ideas about shaken baby syndrome
Shaken baby syndrome, first identified in the '70s, is now more commonly referred to in medical circles as abusive head trauma or traumatic head injury due to child maltreatment.
At the time of Roberson's conviction, the diagnosis required three simultaneous criteria: bleeding over the brain, brain swelling, and bleeding in the eyes.
"That triad was taken to mean child abuse," said Dr. Roland Auer, a University of Saskatchewan professor of pathology and laboratory medicine who signed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court calling for a judicial review of Roberson's case.
But since then, several studies have cast doubt on the science behind this phenomenon. Leading experts remain strongly divided on how to define it, how to diagnose it, or whether it even exists.
More than 30 convictions related to the condition have been overturned in the U.S., according to the National Registry of Exoneration. Last month, an appeals court judge in New Jersey
ruled that the theory was "junk science."
Scientists have identified several non-violent causes that could potentially cause the trio of symptoms linked to the syndrome, including short falls or underlying illnesses.
Auer, who often testifies on behalf of the defence in criminal trials centred on shaken baby syndrome, reviewed Nikki's autopsy and medical records. He found that before she died, she'd been ill with a fever and had undiagnosed pneumonia.
That, he says, is what killed her.
"She was infected. So kids are infected and dying, and resuscitation produces haemorrhage, and parents are going to jail for it or being executed, as is Robert Roberson's predicament," he said.
"I think a person's life is important enough to go to the Supreme Court and get it right. We've just got to get this right."
'Human systems are flawed systems'
As for Wharton, when he testified against Roberson in 2003, he says he was working with the best information he had available to him at the time.
"It doesn't release me from my complicity in the process, but I guess it allays it a little bit," he said.
"As a police officer, I was never one of those that was a fan of the death penalty because human systems are flawed systems. We're incapable of producing the kind of fairness that this final judgment requires.""
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/texas-death-row-shaken-baby-syndrome-1.6988330
——————————————————————————
For excellent background on the case:
https://justiceforroberson.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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;
—————————————————————————————————
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;
------------------------------------------------------------------
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/
—————————————————
