Judge blocks execution of man on death row who claims to be innocent after last-minute appeal
A man who has spent more than two decades on death row had his execution via lethal injection blocked just two hours before the procedure was scheduled to take place on Thursday (October 17).
Robert Roberson, 57, was denied clemency earlier this week despite new evidence claiming the death of his two-year-old daughter Nikki in 2002 was caused by ‘severe, undiagnosed pneumonia’ and not abuse at the hands of her father.
At his home in Palestine, East Texas, Roberson attended to his daughter, who he says had fallen out of bed earlier in the evening.
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Concerned, he took her to a local emergency room on January 31, 2002, where doctors observed a ‘blue colour to her skin’, as per The Guardian.
Medical practitioners also documented that the girl suffered bruising to her face and a subdural haematoma, as well as serious head injuries.
After experts pronounced Nikki dead, her father was taken into custody by arresting officer Detective Brian Wharton.
Doctors notified the police force due to Roberson’s alleged lack of emotion surrounding the illness and subsequent death of his daughter.
The jury found the man guilty of killing his daughter, with prosecutors claiming it was a case of ‘shaken baby syndrome’ (SBS).
This brain injury usually occurs when a child has been shaken violently and can prevent brain cells from getting enough oxygen, but ABC News writes that SBS has been largely discredited in the medical field as a ‘junk science’.
Roberson’s attorneys have relentlessly argued against the SBS claim, highlighting that Nikki was prescribed non-child-friendly medicines like Phenergan and codeine prior to her death.
Following the initial clemency rejection by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles rejection of a call for clemency, the Texas Supreme Court has now issued a temporary stay in the case.
90 minutes before Roberson’s execution via lethal injection at the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville, a Travis County judge issued a temporary restraining order to stop the capital punishment going ahead, as per BBC News.
A legislative hearing will now take place next week, allowing Roberson to testify his innocence, which he has maintained since his sentencing in 2003.
"For 22 years, this man has been held in prison—on death row—and we're hoping that with this ruling today we'll be able to bring light and get to truth," Texas State spokesperson John Bucy told reporters, writes ABC News.
BBC states that the US Supreme Court declined to intervene to cancel the execution outright following the last-minute reprieve on Thursday.
In retaliation, the Texas attorney general has since filed an appeal against the temporary restraining order.
Following the 11th-hour event, Roberson is credited for being ‘shocked’ by the decision, but has ‘praised God’ and ‘thanked his supporters and proclaimed his innocence’, said Amanda Hernandez, director of communications for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, during a news conference last night.
If Roberson’s execution ends up going ahead, his death will mark the 19th execution in 2024.
LADbible Group has previously contacted The Texas Department of Criminal Justice for further comment.
Ella Scott