More than 80 state legislators, including both Democrats and Republicans, have urged the governor to grant pardon to Robert Roberson.
FORT WORTH, Texas — More than 80 state lawmakers on Tuesday formally asked Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to delay or stop the execution of a man convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter.
Last week, the state’s highest court of criminal appeals denied Robert Roberson’s request to stay his execution, ruling on procedural grounds without considering the merits of the case.
Roberson is scheduled to be executed on October 17, but a number of celebrities, politicians and scientists are trying to stop the execution.
“Most wrongful convictions involve a murder or a crime that someone committed,” author John Grisham said at a news conference Tuesday. “But what’s amazing about Robert’s case is that there was no crime. We’re on the brink of another murder in Texas. That’s why it’s so infuriating.”
In 2002, Roberson’s 2-year-old daughter fell out of bed at their East Texas home.
Roberson comforted the girl and put her back in bed, but the next morning he found Nikki nearly brain dead. Roberson took her to the hospital, where she died.
At the time, doctors believed that the type of brain damage Nikki suffered could only be caused by a car accident, a fall from a height, or shaken baby syndrome. Prosecutors argued that Roberson must have shook Nikki to death.
“I testified on behalf of the state at Robert’s trial and my testimony helped convict him of murder and send him to death row, but ever since then, I believe justice has not been done,” said Brian Wharton, a former Palestine police officer who investigated Roberson’s case.
“We didn’t know we didn’t have the best information, but now we know,” Wharton said.
Since Roberson’s conviction, researchers have concluded that Nicky’s “triad” of symptoms affecting her brain could have been caused by other events, including deficiencies, and that shaken baby syndrome requires specific neck injuries, which Roberson’s lawyers argue Nicky did not have.
Nikki also suffered from chronic health conditions and went to the emergency room the week she died with pneumonia and a fever of 104 degrees Fahrenheit. Doctors prescribed her the same cough syrup containing Phenergan and codeine that was prescribed two years ago but is now considered too strong for children.
Any of the prescription drugs could have depress a child’s respiratory system, and Roberson’s lawyers say toxicology reports showed Nikki had a lethal amount of Phenergan in her system at the time of her death.
During Roberson’s trial, prosecutors told jurors that he seemed unfazed by his daughter’s death. Years later, doctors diagnosed him with autism.
“The state of Texas is essentially preparing to execute Forrest Gump,” said Roberson’s attorney, Gretchen Sween.
Prosecutors argued the evidence was “clear and convincing” in 2023. A judge stayed Roberson’s execution in 2016, but multiple appeals courts have denied his request for a new trial.
“The death penalty should not be carried out when there is such doubt as to whether a crime was committed,” Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, said at a separate news conference.
Democratic and Republican lawmakers, including DFW Reps. Jeff Leach, Charlie Geren and Retta Bowers, have said they support Roberson’s clemency petition.
Sween said he plans to petition the state Supreme Court to hear Roberson’s case.
