Texas bishops express gratitude for the Travis County 200th District Court and Texas Supreme Court action to halt execution of Robert Roberson, call for reform of justice system
The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops has issued the following statement regarding the stay of execution by the Texas Supreme Court for Robert Roberson:
We are grateful to the Texas Supreme Court and the Travis County 200th District Court for stopping the execution of Robert Roberson tonight. This action recognizes the authority of the Texas House subpoena for Robert to appear before the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on Monday, which halts his execution.
We pray for Robert and for all who are working unceasingly to bring justice to Robert, his daughter Nikki, and to his fellow Texans. We thank Representatives Joe Moody, Jeff Leach, Brian Harrison, Drew Darby, Rhetta Bowers, David Cook, Nate Schatzline, Lacey Hull, Christian Manuel, John Bucy and Kronda Thimesch for their roles in this outcome.
Now is the time for all Texans to demand justice for Robert and denounce the execution of a likely innocent man which violates the laws of God and humanity to which we hold one another accountable.
We call for a renewed effort to reform our criminal justice system in Texas, so that the human dignity of every person can be honored and that the principles of restorative justice can be applied to end capital punishment.
Robert has languished on death row for more than 20 years because he was sentenced under the highly controversial shaken baby syndrome theory. In addition, he immediately fell under a cloud of suspicion due to his lack of emotion when he brought his daughter to the emergency room. Robert has since been diagnosed with autism, which could explain the flat affect police and medical staff observed at the time. One of the major hallmarks of autism is a reduced range of emotional expression.
We beg for a full review of Robert’s case, considering how more than two decades’ worth of research can provide new insights into the death of his chronically ill, two-year-old daughter Nikki. The consensus of the medical community in 2002 was that naturally occurring illnesses or head injuries resulting from short falls could not have caused the brain bleeding, retinal bleeding, and brain swelling, known as the “classic triad” of shaken baby syndrome, observed in Nikki. Evidence-based science has since proven that premise to be wrong.
In 2013, Texas passed a law that provided legal recourse to prisoners to challenge convictions based on changes in forensic science. Robert must be given the opportunity to challenge his conviction. It is the just course of action.