Source: Texas Tribune
“Texas’[s] highest criminal court on Thursday blocked Robert Roberson’s [killing by state employees] a week before it was set to take place, sending his case back to trial court. Roberson was convicted of capital murder in 2003 for the death of his two-year-old daughter Nikki, who was diagnosed with shaken baby syndrome. He has maintained his innocence over more than 20 years on death row, with his attorneys arguing that the science behind Nikki’s shaken baby diagnosis no longer held up. He was scheduled to be executed on Oct. 16. After previously denying his recent appeals, largely on procedural grounds, the all-Republican Court of Criminal Appeals granted Roberson’s request for a stay of execution under Texas’[s] groundbreaking 2013 junk science law, which provides for a second look when the science driving a conviction has since been debunked.” (10/09/25)