Entries tagged with “Shaken Baby Syndrome”
Oct 15, 2025
Edward T. Blake, Pioneer of Using DNA to Prove Innocence, Dies at 80
Edward T. Blake, a forensic scientist who helped pioneer the use of DNA analysis in criminal cases and whose work helped exonerate more than 50 people, including those on death row, died in August 2025 at age 80 from pancreatic cancer. Dr. Blake was the first forensic scientist to use polymerase chain reaction testing, or PCR, on crime-scene DNA. The technique allowed Dr. Blake to extract usable genetic information from evidence samples that could not previously be tested because of old age…
Oct 07, 2025
New Evidence Revealed in “Dateline” Podcast Points to Judicial Misconduct in Robert Roberson’s Case Just Days Ahead of Execution
October 9, 2025 UPDATE: On October 9, 2025, just a week before his scheduled execution, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) granted Robert Roberson a stay of execution and remanded his case to the district court for further consideration of his request for relief based upon relief offered in a similar case, Ex parte Roark. Like Mr. Roberson’s case, Ex parte Roark, also involved a conviction based the now discredited “Shaken Baby Syndrome Hypothesis” (SBS) and the CCA granted relief to Mr.
Sep 30, 2025
DPI Podcast 12:01 The Death Penalty in Context: Katherine Judson of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences Speaks on Flawed Forensics and Robert Roberson
In the September 2025 episode of 12:01: The Death Penalty in Context, DPI’s managing director Anne Holsinger interviews Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) expert Katherine Judson. Ms. Judson is Executive Director of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences and former Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma Litigation Coordinator for the Wisconsin Innocence Project. In the episode, Ms. Judson provides the history behind Shaken Baby Syndrome, and why it is now known by experts as “junk science.”
Sep 30, 2025
Katherine Judson of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences Speaks on Flawed Forensics and Robert Roberson
In the September 2025 episode of 12:01: The Death Penalty in Context, DPI’s managing director Anne Holsinger interviews Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) expert Katherine Judson. Ms. Judson is Executive Director of the Center for Integrity in Forensic Sciences and former Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma Litigation Coordinator for the Wisconsin Innocence Project. In the episode, Ms. Judson provides the history behind Shaken Baby Syndrome, and why it is now known by experts as “junk science.”
Jul 29, 2025
Defendants Petition the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Alleging Washington County District Attorney Abused His Discretion in Death Penalty Cases
On July 22, 2025, attorneys with the Atlantic Center for Capital Representation filed a petition on behalf of two criminal defendants — Jordan Clarke and Joshua George — alleging Washington County District Attorney Jason Walsh has demonstrated a pattern of improperly threatening or seeking death sentences in violation of the United States Constitution and the Pennsylvania Constitution. The attorneys are asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to use its “extraordinary jurisdiction” to impose external…
Upcoming Executions
,Jul 18, 2025
District Judge Sets “Unfortunate” New Execution Date for Texas Prisoner Robert Roberson, Despite Pending Petition in Support of His Innocence Claim
On July 16, 2025, Smith County District Judge Austin Reeve Jackson set an execution date of October 16, 2025 for Robert Roberson, a man with a strong innocence claim who has a habeas corpus petition pending at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA). Judge Jackson, after hearing arguments from both defense counsel for Mr. Roberson and attorneys from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office, ruled that there was no legal basis for not signing an execution order. “It doesn’t seem like…
Jun 23, 2025
In Unusual Move, Texas Attorney General Requests Execution Date for Robert Roberson Before a Court Has Heard New Evidence of His Actual Innocence
On June 16, 2025, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a motion in the Anderson County District Court requesting a new execution date for Robert Roberson, despite the fact that a motion from defense counsel with new evidence in support of Mr. Roberson’s actual innocence remains pending. As the Dallas Morning Editorial Board notes, it is “unusual” that “[AG] Paxton’s office is involved” in requesting the execution date. AG Paxton has actively sought Mr. Roberson’s execution and has publicly…
Feb 26, 2025
Robert Roberson Once Again Asks Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to Consider New Evidence Supporting His Actual Innocence and Grant Him Relief
On February 19, 2025, in new filings, Robert Roberson returned to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) with a request for relief, presenting substantial new evidence that supports his claim of actual innocence. Mr. Roberson’s latest habeas application incorporates new expert opinions and references scientific advancements that have emerged since October 2024, when the CCA acknowledged in a similar case that the scientific foundation for “Shaken Baby” Syndrome (SBS) convictions lack…
Nov 20, 2024
Texas Supreme Court Rules that a New Execution Date Can be Set for Robert Roberson
In a November 15, 2024, ruling, the Texas Supreme Court cleared the way for the state to reschedule the execution of Robert Roberson, despite compelling evidence of his innocence and widespread support for a new trial. Mr. Roberson was scheduled to be executed October 17, but on October 16 the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence issued a subpoena for Mr. Roberson to testify on a day after his execution was to occur. A district court temporarily halted the execution so that Mr.
Oct 28, 2024
“Simply Untrue”: Lawmakers Refute Unprecedented Attack by Texas Attorney General in Robert Roberson’s Case
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…
Oct 16, 2024
Judge Denies Request to Vacate Oct. 17th Execution Date for Robert Roberson: He Now Awaits Clemency Decision from Gov. Abbott
Update: The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied clemency for Robert Roberson on October 16, 2024. On October 15, 2024, the Anderson County Circuit Court held a hearing for Robert Roberson, who is set to be executed on October 17th. Mr. Roberson’s attorneys asked Presiding Judge Alfonso Charles to vacate his execution warrant because Judge Deborah Oakes Evans, who oversaw a post-conviction proceeding and issued the October 17 execution warrant, violated statutory procedure. Counsel for…
Sep 18, 2024
Broad Coalition Supports Robert Roberson’s Clemency Petition
On September 17, 2024, attorneys for Texas death row prisoner Robert Roberson filed a clemency petition accompanied by letters from hundreds of supporters, including eminent scientists and medical professionals, a bipartisan group of Texas legislators, and former lead Detective Brian Wharton, urging the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Governor Greg Abbott to reduce Mr. Roberson’s sentence. Mr. Roberson is currently scheduled to be executed on October 17, 2024. He was convicted and…
Issues
Sep 09, 2024
Article of Interest: Author John Grisham Says Texas Plans to Execute Robert Roberson, An Innocent Man
Best-selling author of The Innocent Man and former criminal defense lawyer John Grisham “never, not once” believed that any of the hundreds of clients he represented were wrongfully convicted. In a September 5, 2024, op-ed, Mr. Grisham writes that he just assumed the criminal justice system always got it right. Now, writing for the second time about Robert Roberson’s case, Mr. Grisham acknowledges that was “a wrong assumption.” He argues that “Robert Roberson is innocent because the evidence…
Issues
Victims' Families
,Aug 12, 2024
New York Times Video Op-eds Highlight Systemic Flaws in the Capital Punishment System, Including Mistakes from Junk Science and Lack of Closure for Victims’ Families
In the second and third videos of The New York Times’ three-part series, “The Fallibility of Justice,” Brett Malone, whose mother’s killer remains on Louisiana death row, and Texas death-sentenced prisoner Charles Don Flores provide their perspectives on capital punishment. The New York Times has consistently called for abolition of the death penalty, describing it as “full of bias and error, morally abhorrent, [and] futile in deterring crime.” Mr. Malone describes his personal journey from…
Issues
Jul 31, 2024
Articles of Interest: Lead Detective on Robert Roberson’s Case Now Believes He Is Innocent
Brian Wharton, who was the lead detective in Palestine, Texas at the time of Robert Roberson’s conviction for the death of his two-year-old daughter Nikki, now believes Mr. Roberson is innocent and supports abolition of the death penalty. Mr. Wharton said in a video for The New York Times that there is “unassailable doubt” that Mr. Roberson is guilty. In the video, Mr. Wharton recounts his role in the investigation of Nikki’s death, describing how he believed he was doing the right thing, but…
Issues
Jun 20, 2024
Anderson County, Texas District Attorney Requests Execution for Robert Roberson, Despite a Conviction Obtained with Debunked Forensic Science
On June 17, 2024, Anderson County District Attorney Allyson Mitchell filed a motion to set an execution date for Texas death row prisoner Robert Roberson, despite his steadfast maintenance of innocence in the death of his two-year-old daughter. Mr. Roberson has spent more than 20 years on death row for a crime that, according to the Innocence Project, “never occurred and a conviction based on the outdated and now debunked shaken baby hypothesis.” New evidence indicates that Mr. Roberson’s…
Issues
Oct 02, 2023
Supreme Court Denies Certiorari to Two Death-Sentenced Men with Credible Innocence Claims
On October 2, the first day of its new term, the Supreme Court denied review in two high-profile death penalty cases: Toforest Johnson and Robert Roberson. Both men have long maintained their innocence and have garnered broad bipartisan support for their innocence claims. In Alabama, Mr. Johnson’s conviction was largely based on an “earwitness” who received a monetary award after her testimony, a fact that was not revealed until seventeen years later. Mr. Johnson was convicted of the 1995…
Issues
Sep 11, 2023
John Grisham on Robert Roberson: “Texas may execute an innocent man”
In an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, novelist John Grisham recounts the flawed science that led to the conviction of Robert Roberson (pictured, with his daughter Nikki) and the inadequate legal process that has maintained that conviction. Mr. Roberson was convicted and sentenced to death for the 2002 death of his 2‑year-old daughter Nikki. His conviction relied on a theory of “shaken baby syndrome” that has since been discredited. After a hearing ordered by the Texas Court of Criminal…
Issues
Jun 15, 2023
Scientists, Physicians, Retired Federal Judges, and Innocence Groups File Amicus Briefs in Support of Robert Roberson, Texas Man Convicted and Sentenced to Death in “Shaken Baby Syndrome” Case
On June 15, 2023, five amicus briefs were filed with the United States Supreme Court in support of Robert Roberson (pictured with his daughter, Nikki), a Texas death-sentenced prisoner who has long claimed to be innocent of causing the death of his daughter. Mr. Roberson filed his petition with the Supreme Court on May 11th after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) denied his request for a new trial despite the presentation of new scientific evidence that soundly discredited the “shaken…
Issues
May 18, 2023
Texas Prisoner Seeks Supreme Court Review of Conviction Based on Debunked Scientific Evidence
On May 11, attorneys for Robert Roberson, a death-sentenced prisoner in Texas, filed a petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court asking it to reverse the decision of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA). Mr. Roberson’s conviction for the murder of his daughter Nikki was based on the so-called “Shaken Baby Syndrome” which has now been debunked by new scientific and medical evidence. The TCCA disregarded this and other evidence that showed his daughter’s death was attributable to natural…
Issues
Apr 18, 2022
Forensics Experts and Shaken-Baby Exonerees File Briefs Supporting Texas Death-Row Prisoner Robert Roberson’s Innocence Claim
Forensics experts and three exonerees wrongfully convicted of murder based upon junk-science diagnoses of Shaken Baby Syndrome are urging the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (TCCA) to overturn the conviction of death-row prisoner Robert Roberson (pictured with his daughter, Nikki). In separate friend-of-the-court briefs filed on April 8, 2022, the two groups argue that Shaken Baby Syndrome is an invalid medical diagnosis that should never be used as the basis of a murder conviction and that…
Issues
Sep 24, 2018
Questionable Ruling Grants Jeffrey Havard New Sentencing but Not New Trial in Controversial “Shaken Baby” Case
Sixteen years after a notorious and now-discredited forensic witness told a Mississippi jury that Jeffrey Havard had sexually abused and shaken his girlfriend’s six-month-old daughter to death, Havard’s death sentence — but not his conviction — has been overturned. On September 14, 2018, Adams County Circuit Judge Forrest Johnson ruled that state pathologist Steven Hayne’s recantation of his diagnosis that infant Chloe Britt had been a victim of Shaken Baby Syndrome was “not sufficient to undermine…