Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson asks for stay of new execution date

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Robert Roberson, 58, spent almost 22 years on Texas death row for the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtissits behing glass at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit, the prison that houses the 169 men on Texas' death row in Livingston, Texas, Jan

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AUSTIN, Texas - Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson is asking the state's Court of Criminal Appeals to stay his October execution.

Roberson's attorneys are calling on the court to issue a stay of his Oct. 16 execution date in order for the court to consider his request for a new trial "without the ticking timebomb of an imminent execution date."

Attorneys argue that the push for a new execution date earlier this month came before the Criminal Appeals court could consider new evidence of his innocence.

Robert Roberson appears in an Anderson County district court on July 16, 2025.

If the state moves forward with Roberson's execution, it would mark the first time someone is put to death for a conviction tied to shaken baby syndrome.

Additionally, Roberson's attorneys argue that the court has yet to consider his case compared to a ruling made last year that exonerated Andrew Roark, who was convicted in a shaken baby syndrome case in 1997. Roark's case was decided just days before Roberson's appeal was denied in a 5-4 decision from the Court of Criminal Appeals.

Since the court dismissed Roberson's last petition, the appeals court has undergone changes. Three of the five judges in the majority were replaced in the last election.

What they're saying:

"Now that the Court has recognized the serious flaws underpinning the SBS hypothesis of that era, there is a compelling reason to revisit the decision to deny Mr. Roberson a new trial," court documents state.

Roberson's attorney, Gretchen Sween, said it was fair to assume the court was carefully considering the new evidence in Roberson's case.

"This kind of evidence is complex. And misinformation about the physical evidence developed both at trial and in post-conviction has abounded," Sween said. "Under these circumstances, the district court’s stated rationale for scheduling Robert’s execution now—to ‘move things along’—seems incompatible with the truth-seeking function the public expects in matters of life or death. A stay is necessary to remove the artificial and arbitrary time pressure created by scheduling an innocent man’s execution while he has appeals pending."

Robert Roberson's attorney reacts after execution date is set

Gretchen Sween, the attorney for Texas death row inmate Robert Robertson, talks about his case and the judge's decision to give him a new execution date. She believes he instead deserves a new trial.

Robert Roberson Murder Conviction

Roberson, 58, was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter in Palestine, Texas in 2002. 

He took her to the emergency room with a high fever, where medical staff determined her condition was consistent with shaken baby syndrome.

Roberson's attorneys have challenged that diagnosis, calling it "junk science." 

They say Nikki died from natural causes, likely undiagnosed pneumonia.

Robert Roberson's Delayed Execution

A coalition of lawmakers and the lead detective on the case have argued the science supporting Roberson's death sentence doesn't hold up.

The Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence issued a subpoena on the day before Roberson's scheduled execution on Oct. 17 for the death row inmate to testify at a hearing about his case. The Supreme Court paused the execution that night to review the committee's request.

An opinion from the Texas Supreme Court in November said that the committee should be allowed to hear his testimony, as long as a subpoena does not block an inevitable execution.

Roberson did not appear at subsequent House committee meetings after the attorney general's office opposed the efforts to bring him to the Capitol building.

The Office of the Attorney General told the State Supreme Court that doing so would present security and logistical concerns.

Some relatives of the 2-year-old have criticized lawmakers for delaying Roberson's execution.