On Oct. 17, Texas is set to execute death row inmate Robert Roberson for a crime that he is not only innocent of, but that never even occurred in the first place. Roberson was convicted in 2003 and sentenced to death for the murder of his two-year-old daughter Nikki. Except, Nikki was not murdered.
During the short life that Nikki lived, she was chronically ill. She experienced antibiotic-resistant infections, unexplained breathing apnea and, in the week before her death, had been vomiting, coughing and had a fever of over 104 F. Roberson, concerned about Nikki’s condition, repeatedly took her to the emergency room and pediatrician’s offices. To treat her, doctors prescribed several respiratory-suppressing drugs that are no longer FDA-approved for use in children of her age or in her condition, and which a post-mortem toxicology report found in her bloodstream in lethal quantities.
The morning of Nikki’s death in 2002, Roberson woke up to discover Nikki unconscious and with blue lips. He immediately brought her to an emergency room, where she was pronounced dead.
A more recent reexamination of her lung tissue showed that Nikki was suffering from both viral and bacterial pneumonia, and had gone into septic shock from her condition. The respiratory-suppressing drugs she was on for pneumonia also played a potential role by hindering her breathing.
Despite knowledge of Nikki’s preexisting conditions, medical staff jumped to the conclusion at the time that Roberson must have murdered Nikki because of his “unusual” demeanor in the emergency room — behavior consistent with autism spectrum disorder, which he has since been diagnosed with.
Medical professionals declared Nikki’s death a homicide via a now-debunked version of the shaken baby syndrome hypothesis (SBS). They assumed that a caretaker, in this case Roberson, must have shaken Nikki because her swelling in the brain and difficulty breathing were hallmarks of SBS. The presence of SBS symptoms was considered proof that abuse had occurred even in the presence of other medical conditions that could have also caused those symptoms.
The neurosurgeon who first proposed this SBS hypothesis has since recanted his work. Startled by the number of caregivers wrongfully convicted of killing their chronically ill children under his hypothesis, he said “I am doing what I can so long as I have a breath to correct a grossly unjust situation.” Over 30 convictions have since been overturned in light of the scientific unsoundness of this SBS theory.
Roberson’s case needs to join that number. There is clear and convincing evidence that Nikki died of natural causes, and in light of this evidence, there is no way that Texas can move forward with execution without running the tremendous and irreversible risk of murdering an innocent man. Even the lead detective who testified for the prosecution in Roberson’s case, Brian Wharton, is now advocating the state to halt Roberson’s execution. Wharton, in an opinion piece for the New York Times, said “I made a big mistake” and that he now believes Roberson to be innocent.
Last month the world witnessed the murder of the likely innocent Marcellus Williams in Missouri. We cannot let another innocent person die. I have always found the death penalty to be appalling and horrific — guilt or innocence aside — but it is especially unforgivable when an innocent person is executed. If there is even a shred of doubt that the person might not be guilty, don’t we have a responsibility to stop their execution? If we don’t stop it, are we complicit in murder?
Life is so, so precious and taking it is something that can never be undone. If there is even the possibility of innocence, it is our moral and ethical responsibility, both as human beings and especially as residents of Texas, to ensure that the state does not carry out that execution. The execution of an innocent person is murder. If we don’t take action to halt this execution, that makes us accomplices.
Gov. Abbott has the power to stop this execution. Up until the very moment the execution happens, it is not too late to halt it. Here is what you can do:
1. Call Gov. Abbott at 361-264-9653 and insist that he intervene. If you have trouble figuring out what to say, there are several scripts available online that you can use to help.
2. Keep checking the news for updates on Roberson’s case. I would especially recommend that you check out the Innocence Project’s website. They are representing him, and their website has more information about his case and a petition you can sign to halt his execution.
3. Raise awareness about Roberson’s innocence and impending execution in whatever ways you can, whether that be posting on social media or telling your friends and loved ones about it.
4. Connect with other Trinity University students about this case. As residents of this state and in some cases constituents, we are uniquely positioned to stop this execution.
You have the power to save a life. Use it.