This week, a Texas man could become the first person in the United States to be executed for a murder conviction related to his shaken baby syndrome diagnosis.
/AP
Robert Roberson, 57, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection Thursday for the 2002 murder of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis. Roberson has long maintained his innocence. A bipartisan group of Curtis’ lawyers, Texas lawmakers and medical experts argued that his conviction was based on incomplete scientific evidence, saying that Curtis was suffering from complications related to severe pneumonia. It claims that new evidence has been found showing that he died in
But prosecutors argue that Roberson’s new evidence does not disprove the claim that Curtis died from injuries inflicted by his father.
Mr. Roberson’s scheduled execution has reignited the debate over shaken baby syndrome. On one side of the debate are lawyers and some in the medical and scientific community who say the shaken baby diagnosis was flawed and led to wrongful convictions. Meanwhile, prosecutors and medical societies in the United States and around the world maintain that this diagnosis is valid, scientifically proven, and the leading cause of fatal head injuries in children under 2 years of age. are.
Here’s what you need to know about Robertson’s highly scrutinized diagnosis ahead of his scheduled execution.
What is Shaken Baby Syndrome?
Child abuse expert Dr. Suzanne Haney said the diagnosis was made after a violent impact, usually by an adult caregiver, such as a child’s head being shaken, slammed against a wall, or thrown to the floor. This refers to the severe brain damage that occurs when an injury occurs. He is a pediatrician and member of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Child Abuse and Neglect.
Haney said the term was changed in 2009 to the more comprehensive diagnosis of abusive head trauma.
According to the National Shaken Baby Syndrome Center, approximately 1,300 cases of shaken baby syndrome/abuse head injuries are reported each year in the United States.
What’s the discussion about shaken baby syndrome?
Critics say doctors have focused on concluding child abuse due to shaken baby syndrome whenever they see three symptoms: bleeding around the brain, swelling of the brain, and bleeding in the eyes. Critics say doctors have not taken into account that naturally occurring illnesses such as deficiencies or pneumonia caused by a blow to the head can mimic head trauma.
“The shaken baby syndrome/abuse head injury hypothesis used against Mr. Roberson is not science, plain and simple,” said the Center for Disease Control, a Wisconsin-based nonprofit organization dedicated to improving forensic science. said Kate Judson, executive director of For Integrity in Forensic Science. Reliability of forensic evidence.
Haney declined to comment on Roberson’s case, but said the majority of the medical community disagrees with the validity and science behind the diagnosis.
Haney said doctors are looking at all possibilities to determine child abuse, including medical conditions that may have caused the injury, rather than just looking at three symptoms.
“I’m concerned that the backlash against head injuries caused by diagnostic abuse will hinder ongoing prevention efforts and expose more children to harm,” Haney said.
What concerns are Roberson’s supporters raising?
Roberson’s lawyers claim he was wrongfully arrested and convicted after taking his daughter to the hospital. She said her client had undiagnosed autism at the time and his cold demeanor at the hospital seemed to detectives to be a sign of guilt.
“The state of Texas is essentially preparing to execute Forrest Gump,” said Gretchen Sween, Roberson’s attorney.
Among those trying to help are a bipartisan group of state lawmakers and the homicide detective working the case.
“He was very plain-spoken, had no emotion, just gave his answers matter-of-factly,” said Brian Wharton, a former Palestinian police detective.
Gretchen Sween, Roberson’s attorney, said new evidence gathered since the 2003 trial shows that her daughter died from undiagnosed pneumonia that progressed to sepsis. He said the findings suggest that the drug, which should not have been prescribed, likely accelerated the disease’s progression and made it difficult for him to breathe.
“I will forever be haunted by my participation,” Wharton said.
The Anderson County District Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted Roberson, said in court documents that after a 2022 hearing to consider new evidence, a judge rejected theories that Curtis died from pneumonia or other illnesses. Ta.
“You can’t execute an innocent person,” said Democratic Rep. Joe Moody of El Paso. “You cannot execute someone in circumstances where there is a possibility that no crime has been committed.”
What do courts say about shaken baby syndrome?
In recent years, courts across the country, including California, Ohio, Massachusetts, and Michigan, have overturned convictions or dropped charges centered on shaken baby syndrome.
In a decision last week in another shaken baby syndrome case in Dallas County, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that because of scientific advances in the diagnosis, an acquittal in that case is likely. , ordered a retrial.
But the appeals court has repeatedly denied Roberson’s requests for a stay of execution, most recently on Friday.
Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said at least eight people have been sentenced to death in the United States due to shaken baby syndrome. Two of the eight men have been acquitted, and Roberson is the only one whose execution date is known.
“According to the National Registry of Exonerations, at least 30 people nationwide have been exonerated based on this discredited scientific theory,” Maher said.
However, Daniel Vasquez, executive director of the Utah-based National Shaken Baby Syndrome Center, said in a 2021 research paper that shaken baby syndrome/abuse-related head injuries from 2008 to 2018 It said 97 per cent of the more than 1,400 related convictions were found to have been upheld. Convictions were rarely overturned on the basis of medical evidence.
“Even if you remove all of these different cases, you still have brand new parents who are extremely tired, extremely frustrated by a crying baby, and who may not behave appropriately when caring for that child. And that’s our big concern, that misconception: It’s okay to shake your baby,” Vasquez said.
Jeremy Rosenthal is a criminal defense attorney in McKinney who has accused past clients of shaken baby syndrome.
“A lot of times there are people who bring the child, and because they were the last people near the child, they are held responsible for the child’s injuries,” Rosenthal said. “This is very frightening because just recently the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that the science is not sound.”
Rosenthal said Roberson would be the first person to be executed for a murder of his kind, but even the man currently investigating the case claims it never happened. .
“Everyone wants to know why such a beautiful young child would be hurt and who is responsible,” Rosenthal said.
More from CBS News
JD Miles
