Latest news with #GretchenSween
Fox News
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Execution scheduled for Texas death row inmate convicted in 'shaken baby' case as lawyers maintain innocence
A Texas man on death row is now scheduled to be put to death in October for his conviction in the death of his 2-year-old daughter in 2002, after his execution was delayed last year amid concerns about whether he is guilty. Robert Roberson's new execution date was set for Oct. 16 at 6 p.m., according to Judge Austin Reeve Jackson, who said it's the "reality of where we are." The new execution date is a year after his initial execution date was paused after a push from a bipartisan group of state lawmakers, among others. Attorneys for Roberson, 58, criticized the judge's ruling, arguing that substantial evidence shows he did not kill his daughter, Nikki Curtis, more than two decades ago in a case of the shaken baby hypothesis they say has been widely discredited. "Texans should be outraged that the court has scheduled an execution date for a demonstrably innocent man," his attorney, Gretchen Sween, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Everyone who has taken the time to look at the evidence of Robert Roberson's innocence—including the lead detective, one of the jurors, a range of highly qualified experts, and a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers—has reached the same conclusion: Nikki's death was a terrible tragedy. Robert did not kill her. There was no crime," she continued. More than 80 state lawmakers, as well as the detective who helped the prosecution, medical experts, parental rights groups, human rights groups, bestselling novelist John Grisham and other advocates have called for the state to grant Roberson clemency over the belief that he is innocent. A group of state lawmakers also visited Roberson in prison last year to encourage him. Sween said she would seek a stay of Roberson's execution "so all of the evidence that proves he is innocent can be reviewed by the courts without the pressure of a looming execution date." If he is put to death, Roberson would be the first person in the U.S. to be executed in a case based on shaken baby syndrome. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton recently asked the court to schedule Roberson's execution despite the state Court of Criminal Appeals still considering new evidence about his potential innocence, Sween noted. Roberson was convicted after prosecutors argued he killed his daughter by shaking her to death. But his lawyers have said Nikki actually died from other health issues such as pneumonia and that new evidence proves his innocence. His lawyers also said doctors had failed to rule out these other medical explanations for the child's symptoms. "I believe he is innocent for two distinct reasons," Sween told Fox News Digital last year. "The theory that there was a crime that was used to convict him, which was then known as the shaken baby syndrome hypothesis, has been thoroughly discredited. There is no one now who would say the version of that hypothesis that was put before his jury as if it were scientific fact is legitimate." "Also, I know from the experts that had dug into his daughter's medical records and examined the evidence that this exceedingly ill child died from undiagnosed pneumonia that was [ravaging] her lungs, combined with very dangerous prescription medications she was given in the last few days of her life," she continued. "And it's not to suggest that doctors did this intentionally. It's just they didn't know about the pneumonia." Roberson was scheduled to be put to death on Oct. 17, 2024, before the state Supreme Court issued a stay to delay his execution shortly before it was set to take place. The state House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence issued a subpoena the day before Roberson's scheduled execution for him to testify at a hearing about his case. The state Supreme Court paused the execution that night to review the committee's request. The court said in November that the committee should be allowed to hear his testimony, as long as a subpoena does not block an inevitable execution. Roberson did not appear at subsequent House committee meetings after Paxton's office pushed to prevent him from testifying at the state Capitol.
CNN
16-07-2025
- CNN
Texas judge sets new execution date for death row inmate Robert Roberson
A Texas judge on Wednesday set a new execution date for Robert Roberson, a death row inmate who says he is innocent of murder in the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter. Judge Austin Reeve Jackson set the date for October 16 – almost one year after Roberson was previously scheduled to be put to death. The execution was halted following a remarkable maneuver by state lawmakers who had championed the inmate's case, prompting the Texas Supreme Court to issue a stay. The new execution date sets the stage for another potentially high-stakes battle to spare Roberson's life. His attorneys have argued he was wrongfully convicted based on allegations his daughter, Nikki Curtis, died of shaken baby syndrome – a diagnosis they say has since been discredited. Roberson's attorneys and supporters say he deserves another trial in light of new evidence they believe will prove his innocence. Gretchen Sween, Roberson's attorney, said the judge's decision Wednesday should outrage Texans, calling her client 'a demonstrably innocent man.' 'Everyone who has taken the time to look at the evidence of Robert Roberson's innocence—including the lead detective, one of the jurors, a range of highly qualified experts, and a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers—has reached the same conclusion: Nikki's death was a terrible tragedy,' Sween said. 'Robert did not kill her. There was no crime.' While child abuse pediatricians remain firm on the validity of the shaken baby syndrome diagnosis, Roberson's attorneys say the diagnosis is inaccurate. If put to death, they say Roberson would be the first person in the US executed for a conviction based on an allegation of shaken baby syndrome. Roberson's attorneys say there is ample evidence his daughter did not die of child abuse but myriad health issues, including pneumonia, sepsis and a combination of prescribed medications now seen as inappropriate for children. Roberson currently has a pleading pending for the state's Court of Criminal Appeals. Roberson was set to be executed last October, but at the eleventh hour, a state House committee issued a subpoena for the inmate's testimony as they considered the lawfulness of his conviction. The unprecedented tactic prompted a debate over the separation of powers and led the state Supreme Court to temporarily halt the execution so it could consider the request. In November, the state Supreme Court cleared the way for a new execution date to be set by a state judge. The judge in Anderson County, who had previously set Roberson's execution date, later recused herself from the case. The district attorney in the case requested Attorney General Ken Paxton's office to take over prosecutorial power, and Paxton's office last month requested a new execution date. Judge Jackson, who's from another county, was assigned to the case.
CBS News
16-07-2025
- CBS News
Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson now scheduled to be executed on Oct. 16 in shaken baby syndrome case
Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson is set to be executed on Oct. 16, a judge announced during a hearing on Wednesday. Attorney General Ken Paxton requested the hearing to discuss a new execution date after numerous delays. Roberson, who was convicted of capital murder in the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter, was present at the hearing and sat next to his attorney. His appearance in the Smith County courtroom surprised many of those inside who were not expecting the Texas Death Row inmate to be transferred from a Southeast Texas prison. The 58-year-old watched his attorney make a passionate plea to a judge asking to hold off setting a new execution date until pending appeals can be ruled on by higher courts over whether Roberson deserves a new trial. Roberson's attorney, Gretchen Sween, said she will seek a stay of the execution. "Texans should be outraged that the court has scheduled an execution date for a demonstrably innocent man," she said. "Everyone who has taken the time to look at the evidence of Robert Roberson's innocence—including the lead detective, one of the jurors, a range of highly qualified experts, and a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers—has reached the same conclusion: Nikki's death was a terrible tragedy. Robert did not kill her. There was no crime." Prosecutors alleged that Roberson killed the child by violently shaking her — a diagnosis commonly referred to at the time as shaken baby syndrome. In its latest appeal filed in February, Roberson's legal team said that based on new evidence, "no rational juror would find Roberson guilty of capital murder; and unreliable and outdated scientific and medical evidence was material to his conviction." The new evidence includes statements from pathologists that state the girl's death was not a homicide and who question the reliability of conclusions by the medical examiner on the cause of death. "You ask why now there's approximately 200 people on death row in Texas and there's one pending execution date," said Sween. "There's no reason to be setting a date for Mr. Roberson, who is among the few who has live appeals on a very serious issue." Roberson was in a holding cell on Oct. 17, 2024, a few feet away from America's busiest death chamber in Huntsville, waiting to receive a lethal injection when he was granted an execution stay after a group of Texas lawmakers issued a subpoena for him to testify before a House committee several days after he was scheduled to die. The Texas Supreme Court ruled in November that although the subpoena was valid, it could not be used to circumvent a scheduled execution. Roberson never testified before the House committee as Paxton's office blocked efforts to have him speak to lawmakers. Roberson's attorney spoke to reporters outside the courthouse with a number of exonerated murderers standing behind her. "It's not a freak occurrence, we've had 200 people in this country exonerated from death rows because they subsequently have been found innocent," Sween said. "Truth is gonna come out, Robert's gonna come out on top." While Roberson supporters plan to continue their efforts to spare his life, Dallas County has spent $20,000 for an independent review of the victim's autopsy, which was conducted by the Dallas County Medical Examiners' office. County Judge Clay Jenkins said that review is ongoing.
CNN
16-07-2025
- CNN
Texas judge sets new execution date for death row inmate Robert Roberson
Crime FacebookTweetLink A Texas judge on Wednesday set a new execution date for Robert Roberson, a death row inmate who says he is innocent of murder in the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter. Judge Austin Reeve Jackson set the date for October 16 – almost one year after Roberson was previously scheduled to be put to death. The execution was halted following a remarkable maneuver by state lawmakers who had championed the inmate's case, prompting the Texas Supreme Court to issue a stay. The new execution date sets the stage for another potentially high-stakes battle to spare Roberson's life. His attorneys have argued he was wrongfully convicted based on allegations his daughter, Nikki Curtis, died of shaken baby syndrome – a diagnosis they say has since been discredited. Roberson's attorneys and supporters say he deserves another trial in light of new evidence they believe will prove his innocence. Gretchen Sween, Roberson's attorney, said the judge's decision Wednesday should outrage Texans, calling her client 'a demonstrably innocent man.' 'Everyone who has taken the time to look at the evidence of Robert Roberson's innocence—including the lead detective, one of the jurors, a range of highly qualified experts, and a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers—has reached the same conclusion: Nikki's death was a terrible tragedy,' Sween said. 'Robert did not kill her. There was no crime.' While child abuse pediatricians remain firm on the validity of the shaken baby syndrome diagnosis, Roberson's attorneys say the diagnosis is inaccurate. If put to death, they say Roberson would be the first person in the US executed for a conviction based on an allegation of shaken baby syndrome. Roberson's attorneys say there is ample evidence his daughter did not die of child abuse but myriad health issues, including pneumonia, sepsis and a combination of prescribed medications now seen as inappropriate for children. Roberson currently has a pleading pending for the state's Court of Criminal Appeals. Roberson was set to be executed last October, but at the eleventh hour, a state House committee issued a subpoena for the inmate's testimony as they considered the lawfulness of his conviction. The unprecedented tactic prompted a debate over the separation of powers and led the state Supreme Court to temporarily halt the execution so it could consider the request. In November, the state Supreme Court cleared the way for a new execution date to be set by a state judge. The judge in Anderson County, who had previously set Roberson's execution date, later recused herself from the case. The district attorney in the case requested Attorney General Ken Paxton's office to take over prosecutorial power, and Paxton's office last month requested a new execution date. Judge Jackson, who's from another county, was assigned to the case.
CBS News
16-07-2025
- CBS News
Texas judge to consider changing execution date for death row inmate Robert Roberson
Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson could get a new execution date after a request from Attorney General Ken Paxton. The request will be made at a hearing scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Anderson County Courthouse in Palestine on Wednesday. Roberson, a former special education student diagnosed with autism who left school in the ninth grade, was convicted of capital murder in the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki. Prosecutors alleged that Roberson killed the child by violently shaking her — a diagnosis commonly referred to at the time as shaken baby syndrome. Roberson's legal team is opposing the request, citing a pending habeas petition before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and new evidence of innocence. Roberson's defense attorneys now argue that the diagnosis is outdated and too vague to support a criminal conviction. They cite new evidence suggesting the child may have died from an underlying illness, medical error or accidental causes, rather than abuse. "With a habeas petition pending in the CCA (Court of Criminal Appeals) and a mountain of evidence proving Robert Roberson's innocence that has yet to be considered, the request for an execution date in this case makes little legal or moral sense," said Gretchen Sween, an attorney for Roberson. Sween said the AG's office only recently took over the case from the Anderson County District Attorney, who had handled it since 2016. "There is no justification for the Attorney General's relentless effort to kill an innocent human being — and no state law or moral law that authorizes seeking an execution date under these circumstances," Sween said in June. Paxton's office has defended the original conviction by releasing the autopsy report and a letter from the medical examiner, which concluded that Roberson's daughter died from blunt force trauma, not illness or accident. In October 2024, Roberson's execution was halted just hours before it was scheduled, after the Texas Supreme Court granted a last-minute civil appeal.
