The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Thursday granted a stay of execution to death row inmate Robert Roberson, who has long claimed he is innocent in the murder of his 2-year-old daughter Nikki Curtis, saying his conviction based on a diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome was flawed.
The ruling halts Roberson’s execution, which was scheduled to take place October 16.
The order says the court found Roberson satisfied his claim that he should get relief after the appeals court last year granted a new trial to a man who was convicted of injury to a child based on a similar allegation of shaken baby syndrome. In that case, the court found scientific evidence had evolved and that it was “more likely than not” the man would not have been convicted.
As a result, “we remand the claim to the trial court for resolution,” the order Thursday says.
There remains consensus among pediatricians that the diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome – now considered a subset of abusive head trauma – is legitimate. But Roberson’s supporters argue shifts in the understanding of the causes of symptoms Nikki displayed shortly before her death, along with mounting new evidence, prove his innocence or at least warrant a new trial.
This is a developing story and will be updated.