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Texas weighs case for death row inmate Robert Roberson | USA TODAY

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October 16, 2024

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The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles is weighing whether to recommend clemency for Roberson, and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott could intervene.

Robert Leslie Roberson remains scheduled to die by lethal injection on Thursday despite all evidence indicating that he was wrongfully convicted for the death of his 2-year-old daughter Nikki in 2002. At the time, investigators saw what they wanted to see: shaken baby syndrome. In reality, little Nikki had pneumonia in both lungs, she had pre-existing conditions for which she was prescribed opioids that are now banned for children, and she had undiagnosed sepsis.

If Roberson's execution moves forward, he would become the first person to be executed in connection with Shaken Baby Syndrome, considered junk science by many in the scientific community.

Roberson, 57, also would become the sixth inmate put to death this year in Texas, by far the nation's most prolific state when it comes to the death penalty. The state has executed 590 inmates, the most of any state, followed by Oklahoma at 126.

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The Texas BoardRepublican Gov Greg AbbottRobert Leslie RobersonIf Roberson'sShaken Baby SyndromeUSA TODAY's The Excerpt

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Texas weighs case for death row inmate Robert Roberson | USA TODAY · USA Today · Sentinel