Texas board rejects clemency for man facing execution in shaken baby death

A Texas board has rejected a clemency petition for a antheral facing execution implicit a lawsuit of "shaken babe syndrome" contempt doubts implicit the grounds successful the case. 

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted against Robert Roberson's decease condemnation being commuted to beingness successful situation oregon that his execution, acceptable for Thursday, beryllium delayed. 

Roberson, 57, is scheduled to person a lethal injection for the 2002 killing of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, successful the East Texas metropolis of Palestine. Roberson has agelong maintained his innocence.

Texas lawmakers conscionable with Robert Roberson astatine a situation successful Livingston, Texas, Sept. 27. (Criminal Justice Reform Caucus via AP)

The parole board's determination came a time aft an East Texas justice past week denied requests by Roberson's attorneys to halt his lethal injection by vacating the execution warrant and recusing the justice who had issued the warrant.

Roberson's scheduled execution has renewed statement implicit shaken babe syndrome, which refers to a superior encephalon wounded caused erstwhile a child's caput is wounded done shaking oregon immoderate different convulsive impact.

Roberson's lawyers and a bipartisan radical of Texas lawmakers, aesculapian experts and others person urged Gov. Greg Abbott to halt Roberson's execution. They accidental his condemnation was based connected faulty and outdated technological grounds related to shaken babe syndrome. 

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Abbott tin lone assistance clemency aft receiving a proposal from the board. But Abbott does person the powerfulness to assistance a one-time 30-day reprieve without a committee recommendation. 

Roberson's supporters accidental doctors misdiagnosed Curtis' injuries arsenic being related to shaken babe syndrome and that caller grounds has shown the miss died not from abuse, but from complications related to terrible pneumonia.

Texas lawmakers conscionable with Robert Roberson astatine a situation successful Livingston, Texas, Sept. 27. (Criminal Justice Reform Caucus via AP)

"We impulse Governor Abbott to assistance a reprieve of 30 days to let litigation to proceed and person a tribunal perceive the overwhelming caller aesculapian and technological grounds that shows Robert Roberson’s chronically ill, two-year-old daughter, Nikki, died of earthy and accidental causes, not abuse," said Gretchen Sween, 1 of Roberson’s attorneys, successful a connection to Fox News Digital. "A reprieve volition besides springiness Texas legislators clip to analyse wherefore Texas’s vaunted ‘changed science’ habeas law, which allows prisoners to situation convictions based connected subject that turns retired to beryllium disproven oregon wrong, is not being applied arsenic intended successful the courts." 

The American Academy of Pediatrics, different aesculapian organizations and prosecutors accidental the diagnosis is valid, and that doctors look astatine everything – including immoderate illnesses – erstwhile determining if injuries were attributable to shaken babe syndrome.

Casandra Rivera, left, Anna Vasquez, 2nd from left, and Elizabeth Ramirez, center, of the "San Antonio 4" group, clasp boxes with petitions being delivered astatine the Texas State capitol to Gov. Greg Abbott seeking the pardoning of Robert Roberson's execution, successful Austin, Texas, Wednesday. (AP Photo/Nadia Lathan)

The Anderson County District Attorney's Office, which prosecuted Roberson, has said successful tribunal documents that aft a 2022 proceeding to see the caller grounds successful the case, a justice rejected the theories that pneumonia and different diseases caused Curtis' death.

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Prosecutors support Roberson's caller grounds does not disprove their lawsuit that Curtis died from injuries inflicted by her father.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.