In the early morning of Jan. 31, 2002, Robert Roberson entered an East Texas emergency room. His two-year-old daughter, Nikki, was in his arms. She was limp and non-responsive. Her lips were blue. The hospital staff put Nikki on life support and tried to resuscitate her.
And they called the police on Roberson. They thought they had a case of shaken baby syndrome on their hands.
But testifying Wednesday to the Texas legislative Committee on Jurisprudence, Dr. Roland Auer, a Canadian neurosurgeon who has testified in similar cases, said Nikki was not the victim of abuse.
“Nikki died of consequences of pneumonia— cardiac arrest — and she was basically brain-dead in a living body,” Auer said.
At that time, medical experts were told to watch out for shaken baby syndrome deaths. Auer said that medical diagnosis was wrong.
“But what are you going to do when you see bleeding in the inside and nothing on the outside? You’ve got to make up some theory and that’s how shaken [baby] theory came about," he told lawmakers. And then it becomes a 'who-done-it?' rather than a 'what happened?'”
The American Academy of Pediatrics says shaken baby syndrome — now called “abusive head trauma” — remains a significant cause of death and injury in children. The Academy recommends that pediatricians remain vigilant for the signs of abusive head trauma.
Roberson is on the autism spectrum. The arresting officer said the fact that he displayed little emotion to both the medical crisis and the death of Nikki contributed to his being arrested for her murder.
That arresting officer, Brian Wharton, told the Texas lawmakers Wednesday he is haunted by what happened to Roberson.
“I’m ashamed that I was so focused on finding an offender and convicting someone, that I did not see Robert," Wharton said.
Since Roberson’s conviction and death sentence, new research shows that shaken baby syndrome is more complex than understood 20 years ago.
Nevertheless, Roberson has been on Texas death row for over 22 years. Appeals to the courts to reexamine the new evidence have been rejected.
Wharton said the appeals system was put in place with the understanding that sometimes there are bad convictions.
“It’s all pointless if no one will admit we got it wrong," Wharton said.
Roberson was convicted in Anderson County in 2003.
District Attorney Allyson Mitchell testified on Wednesday that Roberson had a fair trial — including an adequate defense.
On Wednesday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected calls for clemency.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott can now only grant a one-time 30-day reprieve. Texas House Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Plano) subpoenaed Roberson to appear before the committee at a later date in a move to attempt to force a delay. It's unclear how the state or Abbott will respond to this given Thursday's execution date.
Roberson’s attorneys are now appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, saying he was denied due process and the Texas courts refused to hear evidence of actual innocence.
Speaking to TPR from Texas death row, Roberson said he’s accepting his fate. He is relying on his deep faith in God's will.
“But I’m at peace if I have to go over there, you know," he said. "I don’t want to go over there. Don’t get me wrong.”
Unless there is an intervention, Roberson will die Thursday evening by lethal injection.
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