Robert Roberson case

Robert Leslie Roberson III (born November 10, 1966) is an American man on death row for the murder of his two-year-old daughter in 2002. Roberson, who had custody of his daughter, was accused of severely assaulting and shaking her to death, and was subsequently tried and convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death in 2003. He has lost his appeals since. The execution, which had been scheduled for October 17, 2024, was rescheduled for October 16, 2025. On October 9, 2025, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued an emergency stay of execution. Roberson's conviction is based on shaken baby syndrome. At trial, prosecutors argued that Roberson's alleged shaking of his daughter had likely contributed to her death as suggested by the shaken baby syndrome theory. Some have argued that the use of the shaken baby syndrome by prosecutors was "junk science", leading to controversy over the conviction. Since the conviction, Roberson's lawyers argued that his daughter had suffered from pneumonia, which had progressed into sepsis by the time of her death, and unsuccessfully appealed under Texas's "junk science law" as a defense. Beyond the use of shaken baby syndrome, prosecutors had amassed evidence showing his daughter had suffered a variety of serious injuries that are indicative of abuse, and could lead to death. The Texas Supreme Court had upheld a temporary injunction to allow his testimony before the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence. The Court later held that legislative committees cannot issue subpoenas with the intent to interfere with a prisoner's execution date, since execution dates are issued through judicial orders, and a new execution date has since been requested for Roberson. Ultimately, the committee never heard Roberson's testimony, but others testified, including Roberson's attorney and a juror who supported Roberson in his testimony.