The Texas Attorney General responded to state lawmakers after they succeeded in delaying the execution of a man sentenced to death for killing his two-year-old daughter.
Ken Paxton issued a statement after the execution of Robert Roberson, 57, was delayed following a last-minute attempt by lawmakers to overturn his death sentence.
Roberson was set to die by lethal injection following his conviction for killing his infant daughter, Nikki Curtis, in their home in Palestine, Texas.
He was convicted in 2002, and investigators blamed it on the now-discredited shaken baby syndrome (SBS).
On Wednesday, Paxton released a letter and endorsed the original conviction and condemned Roberson’s defenders in the process.
The letter included Curtis’ autopsy, testimony from witnesses at trial, and claims from a cellmate that Roberson had sexually abused his daughter.
Ken Paxton published a letter and endorsed the original conviction and condemned Roberson’s defenders in the process.
Roberson was set to die by lethal injection following his conviction for killing his infant daughter, Nikki Curtis, in their home in Palestine, Texas.
A bipartisan group of 86 Texas lawmakers has asked for clemency for Roberson, citing “voluminous new scientific evidence” that casts doubt on his guilt.
Insisting on his guilt, Paxton accused the bipartisan committee that played a major role in staying the execution of using “extrajudicial tricks” to stop it.
The letter directly challenges claims by Roberson’s attorneys and the group of lawmakers that Curtis did not die as a result of SBS.
They believe that the cause of the young woman’s death may have been misdiagnosed, claiming that she had a chronic illness and high fever.
Paxton’s letter states that an emergency room nurse who testified at trial said Curtis had “a handprint on his face and that the back of his skull was soft.”
It says family members had reported that Roberson was physically abusive and had spanked Curtis, as well as hit her with a board or paddle before.
It also says Roberson told a former cellmate, Ryan Lodygowski, that he had “put his penis in the baby’s mouth.”
According to Lodygowski, Roberson said he hit his daughter in the back of the head with his hand and then dropped her on her head.
Paxton wrote: ‘A coalition of activists and state legislators is interfering with the judicial system in an unprecedented way in an attempt to stop or prevent Roberson’s execution.
‘They have attempted to mislead the public by falsely claiming that Roberson was wrongfully convicted through ‘junk science’ in relation to ‘shaken baby syndrome.’
“Despite these one-sided last-minute extrajudicial tricks that attempt to obscure the facts and rewrite their past, the truth remains.”
Doctors testified at his trial that Nikki’s injuries were consistent with SBS and the jury found him guilty of capital murder.
Roberson was on parole at the time of his daughter’s death with prior convictions for robbery and parole violations.
Texas lawmakers meet with Robert Roberson at a prison in Livingston, Texas, on Friday, September 27, 2024.
Despite the damning statement made by Paxton, Roberson’s defense team released a rebuttal saying it was a case of SBS for which he was convicted.
His attorney Gretchen Sween said, “Again, all you have to do is look at the trial transcripts; it was a shaken baby case from the beginning of jury selection to the end.”
Other points raised in his 27-page rebuttal say the autopsy, medical examiner and witness reports were flawed, falsified or refuted.
Brian Wharton, the lead detective in Roberson’s conviction, has recently come forward and now believes he was wrong.
Brian Wharton, seen here, has said that the evidence he used to help convict Roberson was wrong.
He also issued a statement, saying that claims made by Paxton about sexual abuse are unfounded and unreliable.
Wharton wrote: ‘As a detective in Palestine, Texas, I was very familiar with these types of “jail confession” accusations.
‘That such material has been irresponsibly highlighted and treated as truthful information deeply saddens me.
‘The source of this information in 2002, Ryan Lodygowski, was frequently in trouble with the law and was never trustworthy.
“In my opinion, he was such an unreliable informant that I would not have had a conversation with him.”
Travis County Judge Jessica Mangrum had blocked his execution so he could testify before the Texas legislature.
The legislature issued a subpoena for Roberson to testify the day before his execution, and Mangrum approved a temporary restraining order. Roberson’s testimony has since been postponed.
Prosecutors, and the jury, determined at the time that Curtis had not died from a fall, but from being shaken by her father.
Travis County Judge Jessica Mangrum had blocked his execution so he could testify before the Texas legislature, which he has not yet done. He is seen here with Nikki.
Roberson’s attorneys have been fighting to overturn his conviction for years, saying he was unfairly placed on death row using erroneous and outdated information.
But in the years since, doctors have stopped assigning shaken baby syndrome (SBS) as the cause of death.
The scientist who proposed it himself even admitted that it was being used to “imprison innocent people,” warning in 2012 that “we have gone seriously off the rails.”
Roberson was awarded custody of Nikki by her maternal grandparents after her mother, who has not been identified, was denied custody at the hospital following her birth.
The week before her death, Nikki had been sick and went to a local emergency room where she was prescribed Phenergan and sent home.
After his condition did not improve, doctors again prescribed him more Phenergan and codeine, an opioid now restricted to children under 18.
The next night she went to sleep next to her father, who woke up and found her unconscious.
Roberson was on parole at the time of his daughter’s death with prior convictions for robbery and parole violations.
Sween said his autism spectrum disorder, which was not diagnosed until 2018, was also not taken into account and contributed to his arrest and conviction.
During her daughter’s medical crisis, Roberson “shut down and her outward lack of affection was judged as a lack of interest,” Sween said.