Robert Roberson with daughter Nikki. Courtesy of the Roberson family.
On October 23, 2024, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton released a press statement, the original autopsy report, and other case records in an effort to “set the record straight” and “correct falsehoods” that he accused state lawmakers of making about Robert Roberson (pictured). In this unprecedented attack, AG Paxton also characterized the defense efforts as “eleventh-hour, one-sided, extrajudicial stunts that attempt to obscure facts and rewrite his past.” Texas Governor Greg Abbott has also reacted aggressively to efforts to save Mr. Roberson from execution, alleging that lawmakers “stepped out of line” by issuing the subpoena that resulted in a stay of his execution.
Both the autopsy and a 2016 letter from the medical examiner state that two-year-old Nikki Curtis died from blunt force head injuries, which AG Paxton says were inflicted by Robert Roberson and prove the case was not about “Shaken Baby Syndrome” (SBS). But former juror Terre Compton, who recently testified before members of the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence, said that “everything that was presented to us was all about shaken baby syndrome.” Ms. Compton added, “that was what our decision was based on. Nothing else was ever mentioned or presented to us to consider.”
In response to AG Paxton’s claims, a bipartisan group of legislators released their own report and characterized AG Paxton’s report as “misleading and in large part simply untrue.” State Reps. Joe Moody, Jeff Leach, and two others released a 16-page, point-by-point refutation to AG Paxton’s statement, identifying citations and trial exhibits to support their assertions. “We know that the laws our legislature created to correct those problems haven’t worked as intended for Robert and people like him. That’s why we’re here and why we won’t quit,” they said. Rep. Moody also released a personal statement in which he says the AG’s report is a “collection of exaggerations, misrepresentations, and full-on untruths.” Rep. Moody said that the Committee “didn’t issue the subpoena [for Roberson to testify] to create a constitutional crisis, and we weren’t interested in escalating a division between branches of government.”
This extraordinary exchange between the Attorney General and state lawmakers arose after the Texas Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence held a two-day hearing on the discredited SBS hypothesis used to convict Mr. Roberson and the Texas “junk science” statute. In an unprecedented maneuver, the Committee issued a subpoena to Mr. Roberson to testify on Monday October 21st — four days after his scheduled execution. This legally binding subpoena resulted in a stay of execution just 90 minutes before it was scheduled to occur. Because the Attorney General objected, Mr. Roberson did not testify on October 21, 2024. AG Paxton said Mr. Roberson would only be allowed to testify over video “in interest of public safety,” which both the Committee members and counsel for Mr. Roberson say would not be effective because of Mr. Roberson’s autism.
Mr. Roberson was convicted and sentenced to death in 2003 for the death of his daughter, Nikki, who medical experts have since determined died from severe viral and bacterial pneumonia that doctors failed to diagnose, not from abuse or SBS. Despite three new expert reports showing Nikki died of pneumonia, no court has been willing to consider the evidence that clears Mr. Roberson from any crime.
Steven Dial and Payton May, Texas AG Ken Paxton argues for Robert Roberson’s execution in ‘shaken baby syndrome’ case, Fox 4 News, October 24, 2024; Ayana Archie, Texas attorney general’s statements rejects supporters of death row inmate’s appeal, NPR, October 24, 2024; Kayla Guo, Ken Paxton and Texas House members accuse each other of mischaracterizing Robert Roberson’s case, The Texas Tribune, October 24, 2024.
