Texas Attorney General pushes back on public sympathy for shaken baby inmate

The office of Attorney General Ken Paxton released evidence to quell what he believes is misplaced public sympathy for convicted murderer Robert Roberson, according to a Wednesday release. Roberson was lawfully sentenced in 2003 for murdering his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, and has since exhausted every available appellate avenue, the release stated. The claim that Roberson’s conviction was based solely on shaken baby syndrome, what Roberson’s attorneys refer to as junk science, has no basis in reality, the statement added. The attorney general specifically slammed Texas state Reps. Jeff Leach and Joe Moody, accusing the pair of spreading lies about Roberson’s case and interfering with the justice system.

Paxton’s office published the original autopsy report and medical testimony concluding that Nikki died from blunt force trauma to the head. After more than 20 years on death row, Roberson narrowly escaped lethal injection last week when the Texas Supreme Court ordered a last-minute reprieve. The stay order came after state Rep. Moody, Chairman of the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee, scheduled Roberson to testify the week after his scheduled execution date. Several advocacy groups and state politicians recently rallied behind Roberson, insisting he was wrongfully convicted based on new evidence.

What new evidence is Roberson’s team presenting? Some medical professionals allege that Nikki’s death was caused by a combination of severe chronic viral pneumonia that went undiagnosed. That coupled with a secondary acute bacterial pneumonia developed into sepsis, the inmate’s team alleged. Roberson’s lawyers argue that the science behind shaken baby syndrome is invalid, despite a wide portion of the medical community backing the diagnosis.

The Innocence Project says that Nikki had been taken to the hospital the week she died with a fever of over 104 degrees. Doctors prescribed the child codeine and another respiratory suppressant in response to her struggling to breathe. Her illness combined with strong medications she should never have been prescribed in the first place led to her death, his team insisted.

What was Nikki’s official cause of death? Paxton’s office released Nikki’s official autopsy report by Dr. Jill Urban who ruled the child’s death as blunt force trauma to the head. Six examiners from the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office concurred with Urban’s findings, Paxton’s office noted. The office also included Urban reaffirming her findings in 2016, along with materials alleging Roberson changed his story and regularly abused the child.

Roberson brought Nikki to the hospital the last time before her death, saying the child stopped breathing. Medical staff noted bruising in several places on the comatose child’s body, and a CT scan showed severe brain trauma, according to court documents. Roberson claimed Nikki’s injuries came from falling off a bed, however, nurses and doctors who cared for Nikki testified that the severity of her injuries seemed inconsistent with her simply falling off a bed. Roberson’s legal team alleged that symptoms like brain bleeding and swelling can be caused by medical conditions, not just shaken baby syndrome.

Dig deeper: Read Daniel James Devine’s feature in WORLD Magazine about another parent jailed for accusations of shaken baby syndrome.