The Robert Roberson: Texas: A really signiificant development: Brian Wharton, the retired supervising detective, says there was no crime in Robert Roberson’s Case, the Death Penalty Information Center reports - which may have some people (I hope) wondering what on earth is he doing on death row. There's something terribly wrong in this picture. HL…“It would be a terrible legacy for all of us to be associated with executing an innocent man based on a rush to judgment and bad science,” concluded Mr. Wharton. “We must prevent Texas from making a tragic, irreversible mistake.” Mr. Roberson’s conviction for the death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki, centered around the now debunked theory of “shaken baby syndrome.” Mr. Wharton explains how the investigation largely relied on this “bad science” that was presented to the jury as “evidence-based science,” and highlights that there have been 32 exonerations of those wrongfully convicted under this theory, according to the National Registry of Exonerations."

PASSAGE OF THE DAY:  "Nikki’s autopsy had showed severe pneumonia – information that was not provided to Mr. Wharton during the investigation – for which she was taking medication that is no longer provided to children her age since it can cause “fatal breathing problems.”  Mr. Wharton states that “[n]ow it is recognized that many naturally occurring diseases that cause oxygen deprivation, including pneumonia, as well as short falls with a head impact, can cause the same set of internal conditions that Nikki had.”  Mr. Wharton also highlights several other troubling aspects of the case.  For example, the jury was told that Nikki had been sexually abused, but this assertion relied solely on the speculation of one nurse without any corresponding evidence.  During the case, Mr. Roberson’s flat affect puzzled Mr. Wharton, leading him to expect the defense to present evidence of some mental health impairment at trial – which didn’t happen. Only on appeal did the courts hear that Mr. Roberson had been diagnosed with autism, which would explain his affect and prevent the negative inference that he was unemotional about his daughter’s death."

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STORY: "Article of Interest: Retired Supervising Detective Says There Was No Crime in Robert Roberson's Case," published by The  Death Penalty Information Center, on May 24, 2024.

PHOTO CAPTION: “I testified for the prosecution and helped send Roberson to death row in 2003. For 20 years, I have thought that something went very wrong in Roberson’s case and feared that justice was not served. If there is no movement to correct this injustice, I fear myself and others will carry our guilt eternally,”

said Brian Wharton, the retired super­vis­ing detec­tive in the orig­i­nal case."

GIST: "In a May 23, 2024 op-ed published in The Dallas Morning News, Brian Wharton, the retired supervising detective in Robert Roberson’s case, urged Anderson County District Attorney Allyson Mitchell to reexamine the case and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to reexamine a pending motion on Mr. Roberson’s innocence claims, which have previously been denied. 

“It would be a terrible legacy for all of us to be associated with executing an innocent man based on a rush to judgment and bad science,” concluded Mr. Wharton. “We must prevent Texas from making a tragic, irreversible mistake.” 

Mr. Roberson’s conviction for the death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki, centered around the now debunked theory of “shaken baby syndrome.” 

Mr. Wharton explains how the investigation largely relied on this “bad science” that was presented to the jury as “evidence-based science,” and highlights that there have been 32 exonerations of those wrongfully convicted under this theory, according to the National Registry of Exonerations. 

Nikki’s autopsy had showed severe pneumonia – information that was not provided to Mr. Wharton during the investigation – for which she was taking medication that is no longer provided to children her age since it can cause “fatal breathing problems.” 

Mr. Wharton states that “[n]ow it is recognized that many naturally occurring diseases that cause oxygen deprivation, including pneumonia, as well as short falls with a head impact, can cause the same set of internal conditions that Nikki had.” 

 

Mr. Wharton also highlights several other troubling aspects of the case.

 For example, the jury was told that Nikki had been sexually abused, but this assertion relied solely on the speculation of one nurse without any corresponding evidence. 

During the case, Mr. Roberson’s flat affect puzzled Mr. Wharton, leading him to expect the defense to present evidence of some mental health impairment at trial – which didn’t happen.

 Only on appeal did the courts hear that Mr. Roberson had been diagnosed with autism, which would explain his affect and prevent the negative inference that he was unemotional about his daughter’s death."

The entire story can be read at:

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/article-of-interest-retired-supervising-detective-says-there-was-no-crime-in-robert-robersons-case

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/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985

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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-12348801

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