PETITION:
https://innocenceproject.org/petitions/justice-for-robert-roberson/
------------------------------------------------------
PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "New medical and scientific evidence from three experts from a range of medical specialties — Dr. Francis Green, an expert in lung pathology with over 46 years of experience; Dr. Keenan Bora, an expert in medical toxicology and emergency room medicine; and Dr. Julie Mack, an expert in pediatric radiology — proves that his daughter Nikki died of severe viral and bacterial pneumonia that progressed to sepsis and then septic shock, not abuse. This evidence was never previously available. It took years of fighting to get complete medical records."
—————————————————————-
PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "We are devastated by this staggering development but will continue to pursue any avenue to make sure that Mr. Roberson is not the first person in the U.S. executed under the discredited ‘Shaken Baby’ hypothesis. “Over the past two decades, since Mr. Roberson’s conviction and death sentence, the shaken baby hypothesis has been debunked by evidence-based science, a fact recognized by courts in at least 18 states that have exonerated parents and caregivers like Mr. Roberson who were wrongly convicted under the controversial theory."
-----------------------------------------------------------------
INNOCENCE PROJECT POST: (September 11, 2024: Statement from Gretchen Sims Sween, Ph.D., J.D., Robert Roberson’s attorney:
GIST: “Robert’s fate is now at the mercy of the Governor.
He and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles are the only ones standing in the way of a horrific and irreversible mistake: the execution of an innocent man.
Robert Roberson lived every parent’s nightmare when his beloved daughter experienced a medical crisis and collapsed in her sleep.
Then the State compounded the horror by sending him to death row for more than 20 years for a crime that never occurred.
New medical and scientific evidence from three experts from a range of medical specialties — Dr. Francis Green, an expert in lung pathology with over 46 years of experience; Dr. Keenan Bora, an expert in medical toxicology and emergency room medicine; and Dr. Julie Mack, an expert in pediatric radiology — proves that his daughter Nikki died of severe viral and bacterial pneumonia that progressed to sepsis and then septic shock, not abuse.
This evidence was never previously available.
It took years of fighting to get complete medical records.
We are devastated by this staggering development but will continue to pursue any avenue to make sure that Mr. Roberson is not the first person in the U.S. executed under the discredited ‘Shaken Baby’ hypothesis.
“Over the past two decades, since Mr. Roberson’s conviction and death sentence, the shaken baby hypothesis has been debunked by evidence-based science, a fact recognized by courts in at least 18 states that have exonerated parents and caregivers like Mr. Roberson who were wrongly convicted under the controversial theory.
Brian Wharton, the Lead Detective who investigated Mr. Roberson’s case and testified against him, now believes Mr. Roberson’s daughter died of accidental and natural causes.
Mr. Wharton has explained that he deferred to a doctor’s shaken baby diagnosis when he had Mr. Roberson arrested and testified against him.
He now publicly urges for relief for Mr. Roberson and has written, ‘I am convinced that [Nikki] was not murdered. Mr. Roberson is innocent. There was no crime.
“Mr. Roberson was a special education student who dropped out of school after ninth grade. He also has autism, which was undiagnosed at the time of his daughter’s collapse. He was unable to explain his chronically ill two-year-old daughter’s complex medical condition when he took her to the emergency room, after she fell out of bed. She had been sick with a high fever, undiagnosed pneumonia, and on medication that doctors prescribed that we now know are unsafe for children her age and in her condition. The hospital staff did not know Mr. Roberson had autism and misinterpreted his non-neurotypical demeanor as a lack of concern for his daughter.
“In 2003, at the time of Mr. Roberson’s trial, the consensus in the medical community was that a child who presented with Nikki’s set of symptoms must have been violently shaken or struck against a blunt surface by the last person with the child at the time. Grieving parents, who insisted they had not harmed their children, were branded as callous liars. In the 20 years that have passed, the version of the shaken baby hypothesis put before Mr. Roberson’s jury as ‘fact’ has been entirely debunked by actual science.
“Science now teaches that undiagnosed illnesses that affect breathing, like Nikki’s pneumonia, and short falls that impact the head, can produced the exact same internal head conditions long assumed—incorrectly—to be proof of inflicted head trauma. It is past time to end the nightmare of wrongful conviction for Robert Roberson, before it is too late.”
---------------------------------------------------------
The entire statement 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/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
———————————————————————————————
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;
—————————————————————————————————
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;
