Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has firmly rejected the claims made by critics regarding the conviction of death row inmate Robert Roberson in the death of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis. Paxton released the original autopsy report and other case records to counter what he calls “lies” spread by state Reps. Jeff Leach and Joe Moody.
While Roberson has maintained his innocence since his trial, prosecutors argued that the toddler’s death was a result of head trauma from being violently shaken. However, Roberson’s defense team believes that the bruising found on the child’s body was due to pneumonia, not abuse.
It was later discovered that Nikki had pneumonia at the time of her death, leading some to question the validity of the shaken baby syndrome diagnosis. The Texas House issued a last-minute subpoena for Roberson to testify in court, halting his scheduled execution by lethal injection.
Critics argue that Texas Senate Bill 344, which allows convictions to be challenged based on incomplete science, was not properly applied in Roberson’s case. Paxton denounced the defense’s efforts to delay the execution as “extrajudicial stunts” that distort the facts.
In response to Paxton’s claims of abuse, Roberson’s legal team denies the allegations and is seeking permission for him to testify either in person or virtually. There is a debate over whether Roberson’s autism and years spent in solitary confinement would make online communication challenging for him.
The Dallas Morning News quoted one of Roberson’s attorneys, Gretchen Sween, who criticized Paxton’s statement as misleading and aimed at undermining the lawmakers’ efforts to seek the truth in the case.
Paxton’s office maintains that allowing Roberson to testify in person poses a security risk, and they accuse lawmakers of overstepping their bounds and creating a constitutional crisis. Despite the ongoing dispute, the fight for justice in Roberson’s case continues as both sides present their arguments.