The Texas parole board denied clemency Wednesday for Robert Roberson, who was convicted in his daughter’s 2002 death.
Clemency has been denied for a man facing execution this week for the 2002 death of his daughter in a case related to shaken baby syndrome.
On Wednesday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted not to recommend that Robert Roberson’s death sentence be commuted to life in prison or that his execution be delayed. His execution by lethal injection is scheduled for Thursday.
Roberson, 57, has long maintained his innocence in the death of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in the East Texas city of Palestine. Medical experts say Curtis died from shaken baby syndrome, also known as abusive head trauma. Shaken baby syndrome occurs when a child experiences serious brain injury from shaking or another violent impact.
The parole board made their decision after an East Texas judge denied requests by Roberson’s attorneys on Tuesday to stop his execution by vacating the execution warrant and rescuing the judge who issued the warrant.
His attorneys and a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers, medical experts and others have urged Texas Governor Greg Abbott to stop Roberson’s execution.
Those supporting Roberson claim that doctors misdiagnosed Curtis’ injuries as being related to shaken baby syndrome and that new evidence shows that she died from complications related to severe pneumonia rather than abuse.
