Back In Action: Catch up: Robert Roberson: Publisher's note: During my recent vacation, a Texas court once again paused the execution of this innocent father convicted on junk 'shaken baby syndrome' discredited so-called 'science.' This outrageous rush of the Texas government to kill a man (who should have been allowed to grieve the death of his ill daughter) where no crime occurred, has drawn criticism from around the world - and has been the subject of numerous posts on this Blog over the years. As Senior Reporter Ed Pilkington has reported in the Guardian: Thursday’s decision from the court of criminal appeals sends Roberson’s case back to the original court in Anderson county in which he was tried. He will be granted a hearing to consider whether he should be entitled to a retrial under Texas’s junk science law which was introduced in 2013 to protect prisoners from debunked forensic science."

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Roberson’s lawyer, Gretchen Sween, welcomed the stay which was granted exactly a day before he was scheduled to be sent to the death chamber. “Robert adored Nikki, whose death was a tragedy, a horror compounded by Robert’s wrongful conviction that devastated his whole family. We are confident that an objective review of the science and medical evidence will show there was no crime,” she said."

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SECOND QUOTE OF THE DAY: "David Schenck, the presiding judge of the court of criminal appeals, wrote in a concurring opinion that the decision to stay Roberson’s execution was the right one. “It prevents what I see as Roberson’s potentially unconstitutional execution in view of evidence undermining his conviction and sentence.” Members of the Texas legislature also praised the stay. More than 80 bipartisan lawmakers have campaigned on behalf of Roberson, arguing that the shaken baby syndrome diagnosis used to put him on death row was unreliable. Texas court again pauses execution of man in 'shaken baby' case."

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THIRD QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Shortly after the court issued the stay, Brian Harrison, a Republican member of the Texas house, issued a statement in which he said: “It is incumbent on those of us who support capital punishment to ensure that potentially innocent people are never subjected to it. My prayer has been that truth will be revealed, that justice will prevail.” Harrison pointedly praised the judges who issued the stay, saying they had been brave “even in the face of tremendous – and dishonest – political pressure to execute a potentially innocent person who has never been given a fair trial”.

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "The diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome refers to a serious brain injury caused when a child’s head is hurt through shaking or some other violent impact, like being slammed against a wall or thrown on the floor.

His lawyers and some medical experts say his daughter died not from abuse but from complications related to pneumonia. They say his conviction was based on flawed and now outdated scientific evidence.

In their latest appeal with the Texas court of criminal appeals, Roberson’s lawyers had included what they say are new legal and scientific developments and expert analyses that show Nikki’s death was caused by illness and accident and not by abuse.

Roberson’s lawyers also included a joint statement from 10 independent pathologists who said the medical examiner’s autopsy report, which concluded Nikki died from blunt force head injuries, was “not reliable”.

His attorneys have also claimed that new evidence shows judicial misconduct in Roberson’s case."

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 STORY: "Texas court again pauses execution of man in ‘shaken baby’ case," by Guardian Chief Reporter US, published on October 9, 2025.

SUB-HEADING: "Robert Roberson, who has maintained innocence in death of two-year-old daughter, gets third execution date stayed."

GIST: "Texas’s top criminal court again paused the execution of Robert Roberson, just days before he was scheduled to become the first person in the US put to death for a murder conviction tied to the diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome.

This was the third execution date that Roberson’s lawyers have been able to stay since 2016, including an attempt nearly a year ago that was stopped by an unprecedented intervention from a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers who believe he is innocent.

The latest execution stay was granted by the Texas court of criminal appeals. Roberson had been scheduled to receive a lethal injection on 16 October.

‘You cannot undo a wrongful execution’: push to halt killing of Texas man in ‘shaken baby’ case

Since his first execution date more than nine years ago, Roberson’s lawyers have filed petitions with state and federal appeals courts, as well as with the US supreme court, to try to stop his execution. Over the years, they have also asked the Texas board of pardons and paroles and Greg Abbott, the governor, to stop his lethal injection, as part of their efforts to get Roberson a new trial.

Prosecutors at Roberson’s 2003 trial argued that he hit his two-year-old daughter Nikki Curtis and violently shook her, causing severe head trauma. They said she died from injuries related to shaken baby syndrome.

Roberson has long proclaimed his innocence, telling the Associated Press in an interview fro

“I never shook her or hit her,” he said.

Thursday’s decision from the court of criminal appeals sends Roberson’s case back to the original court in Anderson county in which he was tried. He will be granted a hearing to consider whether he should be entitled to a retrial under Texas’s junk science law which was introduced in 2013 to protect prisoners from debunked forensic science.

Roberson’s lawyer, Gretchen Sween, welcomed the stay which was granted exactly a day before he was scheduled to be sent to the death chamber.

“Robert adored Nikki, whose death was a tragedy, a horror compounded by Robert’s wrongful conviction that devastated his whole family. We are confident that an objective review of the science and medical evidence will show there was no crime,” she said.

David Schenck, the presiding judge of the court of criminal appeals, wrote in a concurring opinion that the decision to stay Roberson’s execution was the right one. “It prevents what I see as Roberson’s potentially unconstitutional execution in view of evidence undermining his conviction and sentence.”

Members of the Texas legislature also praised the stay. More than 80 bipartisan lawmakers have campaigned on behalf of Roberson, arguing that the shaken baby syndrome diagnosis used to put him on death row was unreliable.

The case has split Texas’s ruling Republican party, with several Republican legislators backing Roberson while the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, continues to aggressively push for the execution to go ahead.

Shortly after the court issued the stay, Brian Harrison, a Republican member of the Texas house, issued a statement in which he said: “It is incumbent on those of us who support capital punishment to ensure that potentially innocent people are never subjected to it. My prayer has been that truth will be revealed, that justice will prevail.”

Harrison pointedly praised the judges who issued the stay, saying they had been brave “even in the face of tremendous – and dishonest – political pressure to execute a potentially innocent person who has never been given a fair trial”.

The diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome refers to a serious brain injury caused when a child’s head is hurt through shaking or some other violent impact, like being slammed against a wall or thrown on the floor.

His lawyers and some medical experts say his daughter died not from abuse but from complications related to pneumonia. They say his conviction was based on flawed and now outdated scientific evidence.

In their latest appeal with the Texas court of criminal appeals, Roberson’s lawyers had included what they say are new legal and scientific developments and expert analyses that show Nikki’s death was caused by illness and accident and not by abuse.

Roberson’s lawyers also included a joint statement from 10 independent pathologists who said the medical examiner’s autopsy report, which concluded Nikki died from blunt force head injuries, was “not reliable”.

His attorneys have also claimed that new evidence shows judicial misconduct in Roberson’s case. They allege the judge who presided over Roberson’s trial never disclosed he was the one who authorized circumventing Roberson’s parental rights and allowing Nikki’s grandparents to remove her from life support.

The office of the Texas attorney general, Ken Paxton, as well as some medical experts and other family members of Nikki, maintain the girl died because of child abuse and that Roberson had a history of hitting his daughter.

In a 26 September op-ed in the Dallas Morning News, three pediatricians, including two with the Yale School of Medicine, said they reviewed the case and “are convinced that Nikki was a victim of child abuse”.

Shaken baby syndrome has come under scrutiny in recent years as some lawyers and medical experts have argued the diagnosis has wrongly sent people to prison. Prosecutors and medical societies say it remains valid.

Roberson’s supporters include both liberal and ultraconservative lawmakers; the Texas Republican mega-donor and conservative activist Doug Deason; bestselling author John Grisham; and Brian Wharton, the former police detective who helped put together the case against him.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

The entire story can be read at: 

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/oct/09/robert-roberson-texas-execution-supreme-court

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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Back In Action: Maya Kowalski: Florida: (A civil case made famous by the Netflix documentary 'Take care of Maya'.) Publisher's note: I am back in action with a real 'shocker' - following my first lengthy European adventure in years; .As the Tampa Bay Times reports, "The Florida appeals court has reversed the $208 million judgment against "All Children's Hospital', (Johns Hopkins) who had been sued by the family of a mother who took her own life after she was reported for child abuse. As Christopher O'Donnell reports: "The appeal court’s decision was not a clean slate for All Children’s. It leaves the option for the family to seek a new civil trial on whether the hospital was guilty of intentional infliction of emotional distress in its treatment of Maya. Counts of false imprisonment, battery and medical negligence of Maya could also be retried, the ruling said. I will be following future developments closely. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog. PS: Over the next few weeks, I will be posting 'catch up's relating to events that occurred during my absence, along with new matters that pop up from time to time. HL;

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Nick Whitney, the Kowalski family’s attorney during the trial, said the family is prepared to keep fighting. “We’re disappointed by the decision, but the Kowalskis will persevere,” Whitney said in a text. “Judge Smith’s concurring opinion emphasized Johns Hopkins’ outrageous actions towards Maya, and the next jury will see things just like the first one did.”

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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "In an concurring opinion also published by the court, Judge Andrea Teves Smith highlighted the conduct of a hospital social worker who told the patient that her mom was mentally ill and that she would end up in foster care, and that of nurses who berated Maya and accused her of faking her symptoms. There is “competent substantial evidence” that meets the legal threshold of “outrageousness” for the family’s claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress, she wrote. “These health care providers were in charge of caring for and treating Maya. Instead, they exploited their positions with full knowledge that Maya, a 10-year-old child, would not be able to endure such outrageous conduct and undoubtedly suffer severe emotional distress as a result,” her opinion said.

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PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Their 2018 lawsuit accused the hospital of blocking the family from leaving the hospital with their child prior to a judge approving the state’s request to remove her from her family.

The lawsuit also detailed doctors placing the girl in a room equipped with video surveillance for one 48-hour period to try to prove she was faking her symptoms. On another occasion, she was told to strip her down to her underwear and was photographed without permission from her parents or a court. A hospital social worker sometimes kissed and hugged the girl and had her sit on her lap.

Both Maya, now 20, and her younger brother, Kyle Kowalski, wept when the initial verdict was announced. The jury of four women and two men sided with the Kowalskis on every count in the lawsuit and awarded damages of $261 million against All Children’s."

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STORY: “Appeals court reverses $208M judgment against All Children’s in ‘Maya’ case,” by Reporter Christopher O’Donnell, published by The Tampa Bay Times, on November 29, 20225."

SUB-HEADING: "The St. Petersburg hospital was sued by the family of a mother who took her own life after she was reported for child abuse.

PHOTO CAPTION: "Maya Kowalski hugs her attorney Nick Whitney after a jury awarded her family more than $200 million Nov. 9, 2023. The Kowalski family sued Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital for false imprisonment, negligent infliction of emotional distress, medical negligence, battery and other claims more than a year after the family matriarch, Beata Kowalski, took her life following allegations she was abusing her daughter."

PHOTO CAPTION: "The hospital’s report to the state abuse hotline was based on concerns that the child, who had been diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome, was being prescribed high doses of ketamine."

GIST: "An appeals court has reversed a civil jury trial decision that resulted in a $208 million judgment against Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in the case made famous by the “Take Care of Maya” Netflix documentary.

In a 48-page ruling issued Wednesday, a three-judge panel for Florida’s 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that the evidence from the civil trial does not support the jury’s verdict that the hospital contributed to the 2017 suicide of Beata Kowalski. She took her own life after her 10-year-old daughter, Maya, was removed by the state and sheltered at All Children’s for three months.

The lower court erred in not giving more legal protection to the hospital in its role as a state-mandated reporter of suspected child abuse, the judges said. They ruled there was no evidence to support the jury’s award of $50 million in punitive damages, which requires proof that the hospital was “guilty of intentional misconduct or gross negligence.”

“Nothing in the record suggests that (the hospital’s) participation in implementing the dependency court orders, as it was required to do, was not done in good faith,” the opinion said.

Judges also found fault with Circuit Judge Hunter Carroll’s decision not to give the hospital a new trial or, for some of the counts in the lawsuit, a directed verdict, where a judge — not a jury — decides the outcome.

The ruling comes almost two years after a nine-week civil trial resulted in a jury finding that All Children’s falsely imprisoned and battered Maya Kowalski and contributed to her mother’s suicide

The appeal court’s decision was not a clean slate for All Children’s. It leaves the option for the family to seek a new civil trial on whether the hospital was guilty of intentional infliction of emotional distress in its treatment of Maya. Counts of false imprisonment, battery and medical negligence of Maya could also be retried, the ruling said.

In an concurring opinion also published by the court, Judge Andrea Teves Smith highlighted the conduct of a hospital social worker who told the patient that her mom was mentally ill and that she would end up in foster care, and that of nurses who berated Maya and accused her of faking her symptoms.

There is “competent substantial evidence” that meets the legal threshold of “outrageousness” for the family’s claim of intentional infliction of emotional distress, she wrote.

“These health care providers were in charge of caring for and treating Maya. Instead, they exploited their positions with full knowledge that Maya, a 10-year-old child, would not be able to endure such outrageous conduct and undoubtedly suffer severe emotional distress as a result,” her opinion said.

Nick Whitney, the Kowalski family’s attorney during the trial, said the family is prepared to keep fighting.

“We’re disappointed by the decision, but the Kowalskis will persevere,” Whitney said in a text. “Judge Smith’s concurring opinion emphasized Johns Hopkins’ outrageous actions towards Maya, and the next jury will see things just like the first one did.”

The tragic story of the Sarasota County family generated worldwide headlines after it was turned into a documentary called “Take Care of Maya.” Released on Netflix in 2023, it was viewed almost 14 million times in the first two weeks.

All Children’s attorney Ethen Shapiro of law firm Hill Ward Henderson said the ruling will protect workers and others required by law to report possible child abuse to the state’s hotline.

“This opinion sends a clear and vital message to mandatory reporters in Florida and across the country that their duty to report suspicions of child abuse and, critically, their good faith participation in child protection activities remain protected,” he said in an email. “We thank the judges for their time and attention to this matter, and we appreciate that they understood what many did not: that a one-sided movie is no substitute for a fair judicial process.”

The decision is a hammer blow for the Kowalski family, who fought for five years to get the case to trial.

Their 2018 lawsuit accused the hospital of blocking the family from leaving the hospital with their child prior to a judge approving the state’s request to remove her from her family.

The lawsuit also detailed doctors placing the girl in a room equipped with video surveillance for one 48-hour period to try to prove she was faking her symptoms. On another occasion, she was told to strip her down to her underwear and was photographed without permission from her parents or a court. A hospital social worker sometimes kissed and hugged the girl and had her sit on her lap.

Both Maya, now 20, and her younger brother, Kyle Kowalski, wept when the initial verdict was announced. The jury of four women and two men sided with the Kowalskis on every count in the lawsuit and awarded damages of $261 million against All Children’s .

Carroll, the judge, later reduced it by roughly $50 million."

The entire story can be read at:

https://www.tampabay.com/news/health/2025/10/29/all-childrens-st-petersburg-maya-netflix-beata-kowalski-appeal

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;

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October 31: Dear Readers: Since I will be 'out of commission' for the month of October, I will be unable to report on developments surrounding his imminent execution by the State of Texas, which is to be carried out on October 16 - unless, as I truly hope will happen, the authorities will buckle under public pressure, and cancel the execution. You can sign the Innocence Project Commission petition as I have just done - and help assert that pressure; (HL); 30:

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Dear Readers: Since I will be undertaking a writing project for the month of October, I will be unable to report on  developments surrounding  his imminent execution by the State of  Texas, which  is to be carried out on  October 16 - unless, as I truly hope will happen, the authorities will buckle under public pressure, and cancel the execution. You can sign the Innocence Project  petition  as I have just done - and help assert that  pressure - at:

https://innocenceproject.org/petitions/justice-for-robert-roberson/

I have been following the Roberson case - (with mounting rage) in which the State of  of Texas (to its eternal discredit)  has been thirsting to kill an innocent,  autistic, grieving father on  the basis of debunked junk  shaken baby syndrome' (SBS)   so-called 'science' for years  - and will be able to continue publishing until  Wednesday, October 1.

For the rest of October, I suggest  you check in regularly to  the Centre for The Integrity of Forensic Science (CIFS)  and The Innocence Project, for up-to-date reporting and analysis. They can be be accessed at the following links.

Center for integrity  in forensic science:(CIFS) 

https://cifsjustice.org/news/

Innocence Project;

https://innocenceproject.org/

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For those who are not familiar with the Roberson case, it will be helpful to  read the letter released by The CFIS,  and signed by 20 exonerees, including five who, like Mr. Roberson who appear on the SBS exoneree list maintained by the National Registry of Exonerations. 

The extraordinary letter calls on  Texas authorities to do everything in their power to prevent Mr. Roberson's execution, at the link below, saying, in part, "The signatories express relief for their own exonerations “after years of heartache, anguish, and despair,” and gratitude to finally be “reunited with our families and communities, free to rebuild the lives stolen from us by the State.” They urge: “This is what we want for Robert and what he deserves,” and implore the Texas authorities “to prevent the wrongful execution of this innocent father.”

THE ENTIRE LETTER CAN BE READ AT: 

part-2-robert-roberson-death-row-texas.html

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Timeline: Dallas Observer: September 22, 2025;

January 2022

Roberson takes his daughter, Nikki, to an emergency room in Palestine, saying that he found the girl unresponsive after she fell from her bed. In the days prior, Nikki had been diagnosed with a respiratory illness, had recorded a fever of 104.5 degrees and was given prescriptions for promethazine to treat the illness. Doctors later pronounced the toddler dead.

A doctor diagnoses Nikki with Shaken Baby Syndrome, a form of child abuse, and Roberson is charged with the death of his daughter and arrested.\

February 2003

During Roberson’s trial, medical providers testiy that they found Roberson’s response to his daughter’s illness suspicious, because he did not present the amount of distress they’d expect from a father whose daughter has just died. The experts also say they believe that Nikki died of head trauma that resulted from Roberson shaking her violently, and that an autopsy revealed brain bleeds and bruising.

One expert also testifies that they believe Roberson had sexually assaulted Nikki, but the claim is dropped after no evidence is found to support the claim.

Roberson’s lawyers, rather than argue that Nikki’s condition could have resulted from lifesaving measures taken or her prior illness, say the man did not intend to kill his daughter. At the trial’s end, Roberson is found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death by an Anderson County court.

July 2007

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismisses an appeal filed by Roberson’s attorneys, the first of several requests to reexamine the case that will be struck down. In the summer of 2015, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals strikes down additional appeals requests.

2013

Texas becomes the first state in the United States to pass a law that allows criminal cases to be reexamined if they were argued using science that has since been disproven, known as the “junk science law.” 

Around the same time, questions regarding the legitimacy of the “Shaken Baby Syndrome” theory as a medical diagnosis begin to gain traction, with some researchers arguing that shaking a child with the rigor that would result in death would also result in other symptoms often unseen in SBS cases. In subsequent filings, Roberson’s legal team argues that Nikki’s diagnosed pneumonia, which developed into sepsis, should have been considered as a contributor to her death.

June 2016 

Lawyers argue that the scientific community’s evolving understanding of Shaken Baby Syndrome allowed the case to be granted a second look under Texas’ junk science law, and that testimony presented during the initial trial violated Roberson’s constitutional right to a fair proceeding.

Roberson’s first execution is stayed four days before he is scheduled to be killed, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals sends his case back to his Anderson County trial court to be reevaluated.

2018

Roberson is diagnosed with Autism, which some experts say could have contributed to his behavior on the day of Nikki’s death.

2021 

During the evidentiary trial, the defense presents updated scientific analysis that they believe brings the conclusion that Roberson killed Nikki by shaking her into question.

2023

In January, the court finds that there is not enough evidence to warrant Roberson’s case being overturned.

Roberson’s attorneys file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court outlining the case in May. The filing argues that the evidentiary trial’s refusal to thoroughly reexamine Roberson’s case proves that Texas’ junk science law is “meaningless.”

The Supreme Court rejects the appeal in October.

May 2024

Brian Wharton, the detective who investigated and testified against Roberson, tells The Dallas Morning News that he has regretted his involvement in the case “for 20 years,” and urges the State of Texas to take Roberson off death row.

“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,” said Wharton. ​”We must pre­vent Texas from mak­ing a trag­ic, irreversible mistake.”

July 2024

An Anderson County court convenes in July and determines that Roberson will be killed in October, his second execution date. Although his lawyers file additional appeals, arguing that Roberson’s autism diagnosis prevented him from being fairly tried, the requests are denied over the subsequent months.

October 2024

In the days leading up to Roberson’s execution, scheduled for Oct. 17, several appeals and pleas for clemency are ignored or denied, and outrage surrounding the case grows. On Oct. 15, two days before he is set to be killed, the Texas Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence approves a subpoena that calls for Roberson to testify before the committee.

The Texas parole board votes against commuting Roberson’s sentence, eliminating the final path for Gov. Greg Abbott to grant a pardon in the case. Abbott remains largely silent on the case even as attention grows.

Oct. 17, 2024

Roberson is scheduled to be killed by lethal injection at 6:00 p.m.

In the hours leading up to 6:00 p.m., members of the Texas Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence begin filing appeals in the case, arguing that the state carrying out the execution would override their right to subpoena Roberson, who is scheduled to testify on Oct. 21.

At 10:00 p.m., the Texas Supreme Court issues a stay on the execution, arguing that the conflicting interests of the judicial and legislative branches have introduced a constitutional crisis. Attorneys say Roberson is “shocked” to learn his execution has once again been delayed.

November 2024

Attorney General Ken Paxton bars Roberson from testifying in person before the Texas Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence.

The Texas Supreme Court rules that state lawmakers violated their constitutional duties by interfering with the scheduled execution of Roberson. Still, the body acknowledges the committee’s right to have Roberson testify, as he is alive.

July 2025

A judge schedules a third execution date for Roberson. He is scheduled to be killed at the Texas State Penitentiary on Oct. 16 at 6 p.m.

https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/timeline-robert-roberson-shaken-baby-texas-death-row-case-23308744/

All being well, I will be back in action at the beginning of November, and in the meantime I invite readers to keep sending me  comments,  suggestions, developments and tips, whatever,  at:

hlevy15@gmail.com

Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog:

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All being well, I will be back in action at the beginning of November, and in the meantime I invite readers to keep sending me  comments,  suggestions, developments and tips, whatever,  at:

hlevy15@gmail.com

Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog:

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