Death row inmate days away from execution despite questions about science behind guilty verdict
A Texas prisoner who has been on death row for more than 20 years is set to be put to death in a matter of days, despite questions being raised around the science behind his conviction.
Robert Roberson received his death sentence more than two decades ago, following the 2002 death of his two-year-old daughter.
At the time, prosecutors claimed the little girl, Nikki, had died of shaken baby syndrome - a title given when a child suffers a serious brain injury through shaking or some other violent impact.
Roberson maintained his innocence, but he was sentenced to death, and last year the Texas Board of Parole voted against recommending clemency, paving the way for his execution.
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The convicted man is now scheduled to be executed on October 16, but doubts around his conviction remain and have been raised in a new podcast hosted by Lester Holt, who traveled to Texas to speak to Roberson.
A clip of the podcast, titled The Last Appeal, featured on Today and showed Holt describing how the science behind shaken baby syndrome has been 'undermined'.
Speaking on the show, Holt said: "There is growing evidence that other things ... can cause shaken baby, or the effects that [doctors] were talking about."
Holt's claims echo the arguments of Roberson's lawyers, who have alleged his conviction was based on now-outdated scientific evidence.
According to the lawyers, new evidence has shown Nikki died as a result of complications related to severe pneumonia, as well as inappropriate medication allegedly prescribed by doctors.
One of Roberson's lawyers, Gretchen Swen, told the podcast: "The symptoms seen years ago as diagnostic of shaking are actually caused by a host of things."
In the podcast, Holt further claims: "The jury was never told that Nikki was a terribly ill child. She'd been seen by doctors more than 40 times in her short life, and in the days leading to her death Nikki had a 104.5 degree fever."
Among those supporting Roberson is Brian Wharton, the former lead detective on the case of Nikki's death.
Wharton urged officials to grant Roberson clemency in a letter cited by People, saying: “I will be forever haunted by my participation in his arrest and prosecution. He is an innocent man.”
While is execution is scheduled to take place next week, Roberson remains hopeful that the truth will come to light.
"It's clear as day. They seen the evidence and they see that I really shouldn't be here," he said.
Topics: Texas, Death Row, True crime, Crime
Emily Brown