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Texas Attorney General addresses Texas death row case
There is another twist in the pending execution of Robert Robertson, a Texas death row inmate. Ken Paxton says he is correcting falsehoods about the case.
DALLAS - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is blasting state lawmakers for delaying the execution of a man convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter and trying to dispute claims that he was sentenced based on "junk science."
Robert Roberson was scheduled to be executed last week for murdering his daughter, Nikki, in East Texas in 2002.
That execution was halted so Roberson could testify to lawmakers.
Members of the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence believe state law should have already stopped Roberson’s execution because the science of "shaken baby syndrome," which Nikki was diagnosed with, no longer holds up.
For the first time, Paxton is commenting on the case.
In a newly released statement, Paxton argued for Roberson’s execution, saying evidence showed his daughter died from being beaten by her father.
He also released the autopsy report and affidavit from the medical examiner, both detailing Nikki died from blunt force trauma.
Paxton also claims the murder trial was not centered around shaken baby syndrome. But a former juror refuted that claim.
"Everything that was presented to us was all about shaken baby syndrome," Terre Compton told committee members on Monday. "That was what our decision was based on. Nothing else was ever mentioned or presented to us to consider. If it had been told to us, I would have had a different opinion. And I would have found him not guilty."
Joe Moody, a Democrat from El Paso who chairs the committee looking into Roberson’s case, released a statement saying be believes there are no new facts in the attorney general’s report and only a "collection of exaggerations, misrepresentations, and full-on untruths."
Texas’ junk science law is getting another look over Robert Roberson’s case
A 2013 law allows a person convicted of a crime to seek relief if the evidence used against them is no longer credible.
He and other advocates claim Roberson was unfairly convicted through "junk science" by correlating Nikki’s death with "shaken baby syndrome."
Medical professionals testified to state lawmakers that they now believe she may have died from undiagnosed pneumonia.
While the legal battle is playing out, Roberson has not received a new date for execution.
How a legal fight could help death row inmate Robert Roberson
As the battle between the Texas House and the state's attorney general's office over the in-person testimony of inmate Robert Roberson continues, it opens the possibility of a new outcome from the Court of Criminal Appeals as one-third of the judges will not return to the bench.
He also still hasn’t testified before the committee because of a legal dispute over his speaking in person versus over Zoom.