PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "While many of us were acquitted or exonerated after evidence-based medicine prevailed in court cases, Robert has not benefited from the significant advances in science since his trial more than 20 years ago. Although the SBS hypothesis has been challenged or outright debunked by numerous medical and judicial communities, Robert once again faces execution. How is this possible? His case is an extreme example of the harm that can be caused by medical misdiagnoses of child abuse resulting from a rush to judgment in the face of tragic and complex medical crises."
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OPEN LETTER: To the Authorities in Texas in Support of Robert Roberson:
GIST: "Robert Roberson stands alone as the only person facing imminent executon at the hands of the Government for a conviction based on the discredited “Shaken Baby Syndrome” (SBS) hypothesis.
But he is not alone in being wrongfully charged and convicted of harming a child.
We, the signatories below, faced this same nightmare.
We all know the horror of being wrongfully accused and convicted of having hurt a beloved child.
Some of us sought medical help for a sick or injured child, only to be blindsided by abuse accusations stemming from hasty, scientifically dubious diagnoses, including SBS. In the cruelest cases, while grieving the loss of a child, we were unjustly charged with murder, convicted, and sentenced despite considerable reasons to doubt the allegations and despite medical alternatves for the child’s condi7on.
This is what happened to Robert after he brought his seriously ill daughter, Nikki, to the emergency room.
Thankfully, we all secured relief from the criminal legal system aJer years of heartache, anguish, and despair.
We have been reunited with our families and communites, free to rebuild the lives stolen from us by the State.
This is what we want for Robert and what he deserves.
While many of us were acquitted or exonerated after evidence-based medicine prevailed in court cases, Robert has not benefited from the significant advances in science since his trial more than 20 years ago.
Although the SBS hypothesis has been challenged or outright
debunked by numerous medical and judicial communities, Robert once again faces execution.
How is this possible? His case is an extreme example of the harm that can be caused by medical misdiagnoses of child abuse resulting from a rush to judgment in the face of tragic and complex medical crises.
This is a terrible impasse.
Robert’s life hangs in the balance.
He is scheduled to be put to death by the State of Texas on October 16, 2025.
There is no way to reverse a wrongful execu/on, but it can be prevented.
We implore you to prevent the wrongful execu7on of this innocent father.
Signed,
Jeffery A. Baker
Wrongly convicted 2013; incarcerated for 13 years; freed in 2022
Boise, Idaho
Daniel Bannister
Wrongfully incarcerated for 2.5 years; charges dropped in 2025
Ewing, New Jersey
Julie Baumer*
Wrongfully incarcerated for 4.2 years; exonerated in 2010
Michigan
* Indicates an individual wrongfully convicted under the SBS hypothesis who appears on the exoneree list maintained by the Na<onal Registry of Exonerations.
Josh Burns*
Wrongfully incarcerated for 1 year; exonerated in 2024
Dallas, Texas
Sabrina Butler-Smith
Wrongfully incarcerated for 2 years and 9 months on death row and 6.5 years total;
exonerated in 1995
Tennessee
Audrey Edmunds*
Wrongfully incarcerated for 13 years; exonerated in 2008
Fridley, Minnesota
Marvin Grimm
Wrongfully incarcerated for 45 years; exonerated on June 18, 2024
Virginia
Ben Hansen
Wrongfully accused in 2013
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Clarence Jones III*
Wrongfully convicted; served 18 years in prison; exonerated in 2021
Baltimore County, Maryland
Kris/e Mayhugh
Wrongfully incarcerated for 14 years, exonerated in 2016
Houston, Texas
Kimberly Moore
Wrongfully accused for 5 years; set free; fully acquitted in August 2023
Cincinna7, Ohio
Hannah Overton
Wrongfully incarcerated for 7 years; exonerated in 2015
Corpus Chris7, Texas
Carmen Petak
Wrongfully incarcerated 1 year, 9 months; freed July 29, 2024
MaMoon, Illinois
Melvin Quinney, Jr.
Wrongfully incarcerated for 8 years; exonerated in 2023
Dallas, Texas
* Indicates an individual wrongfully convicted under the SBS hypothesis who appears on the exoneree list
maintained by the National Registry of Exonera<ons.
Elizabeth Ramirez
Wrongfully incarcerated for 15 years; exonerated in 2016
San Antonio, Texas
Cassandra Rivera Hurtado
Wrongfully incarcerated for 14 years; exonerated in 2016
San Antonio, Texas
Andrew Roark*
Wrongfully convicted of injury to a child and incarcerated for 13 years; exonerated in 2024
Dallas, Texas
Elise Schwarz
Wrongly accused in New York Family Court of shaking my infant son, February 2012; charges
dropped after six months
New York, New York
Jacob Throntveit
Son taken from our custody in August 2021, custody restored in September 2022
Tacoma, Washington
Anna Vasquez
Wrongfully incarcerated for 13 years; exonerated in 2016
San Antonio, Texas/"
The entire open letter can be read at:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f4cJnVqGMQNGo0jrRwugW-CY1xsyXfNo/view
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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