PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Evans’ involvement in Roberson’s case began in 2016 when she presided over a post-conviction proceeding that was initiated that year, court documents show. She later retired from the bench in 2022 but was assigned to Roberson’s case this year after her retirement. Evans presided over the post-conviction junk science hearings after the first execution was stayed but ultimately rejected the arguments from Roberson’s lawyers. After weighing the testimony, the judge ruled against Roberson in February 2022, stating his attorneys failed to show shaken baby syndrome was “discredited and no longer an accepted medical diagnosis.” ”While the Applicant has shown that there is new scientific evidence not available at the time of his trial,” the judge wrote, “he has failed to show by a preponderance of evidence that had this new evidence been presented at trial, he would not have been convicted.”
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Gretchen Sween, an attorney for Roberson and who had previously asked Evans to step aside, told The Dallas Morning News on Sunday that she was surprised to learn of the judge’s decision. “I do not know what prompted Judge Evans to voluntarily recuse herself at this time when no matter is currently pending,” said Sween, adding that she had not yet been officially served with the legal filing by the judge. “But I hope District Attorney Allyson Mitchell will now avoid rushing to obtain a new execution date and will instead agree to meet with Mr. Roberson’s legal team to discuss the overwhelming evidence that no crime occurred and that Mr. Roberson is thus innocent.”
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STORY: "State judge overseeing Robert Roberson ‘shaken baby’ case steps aside," by Reporter Zachary Washington, published by The Dallas Morning News, on June 1, 2024.
GIST: "Deborah Oakes Evans, the retired state district judge who issued the execution warrant for Robert Roberson III earlier this year, has apparently voluntarily decided to recuse herself from the legal proceeding.
According to the court filing, Evans signed the order of recusal on Nov. 25. It was not immediately clear why she opted to step aside from the case, which has garnered national and international headlines.
Roberson, 58, was convicted of capital murder in 2003 for reportedly shaking his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, to death.
Advocates, his lawyers and a bipartisan group of lawmakers say he is innocent and the science behind “shaken baby syndrome” is flawed.
Roberson was scheduled to die by lethal injection in Huntsville in October but was saved after the Texas Supreme Court directed state officials to allow the death row inmate to comply with a subpoena issued by a House committee for his testimony. Roberson has maintained his innocence for more than two decades.
Evans’ involvement in Roberson’s case began in 2016 when she presided over a post-conviction proceeding that was initiated that year, court documents show. She later retired from the bench in 2022 but was assigned to Roberson’s case this year after her retirement.
Evans presided over the post-conviction junk science hearings after the first execution was stayed but ultimately rejected the arguments from Roberson’s lawyers.
After weighing the testimony, the judge ruled against Roberson in February 2022, stating his attorneys failed to show shaken baby syndrome was “discredited and no longer an accepted medical diagnosis.”
”While the Applicant has shown that there is new scientific evidence not available at the time of his trial,” the judge wrote, “he has failed to show by a preponderance of evidence that had this new evidence been presented at trial, he would not have been convicted.”
While the specific reason is unknown, Evans’ recusal from Roberson’s case comes after attorneys questioned her impartiality because of her friendships with jurists connected to the case and rulings in another “shaken baby syndrome” case.
Gretchen Sween, an attorney for Roberson and who had previously asked Evans to step aside, told The Dallas Morning News on Sunday that she was surprised to learn of the judge’s decision.
“I do not know what prompted Judge Evans to voluntarily recuse herself at this time when no matter is currently pending,” said Sween, adding that she had not yet been officially served with the legal filing by the judge. “But I hope District Attorney Allyson Mitchell will now avoid rushing to obtain a new execution date and will instead agree to meet with Mr. Roberson’s legal team to discuss the overwhelming evidence that no crime occurred and that Mr. Roberson is thus innocent.”
The judge and Mitchell were not immediately available for comment Sunday evening.
Evans has asked the judge overseeing the 10th administrative region to appoint a new judge in the case but it was not immediately clear when that request will be considered.
It was not clear how the judge’s decision will affect the case timeline going forward. No new execution date for Roberson has been set as of Sunday."
The entire story 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
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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;
