PALESTINE, Texas — Judge Austin Reeve Jackson will review evidence in considering whether Robert Roberson should receive a new trial, according to a decision made Friday, April 10.
Roberson, who has been on death row since 2003, was convicted “for the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter Nikki,” according to the Innocence Project. “His conviction was entirely built on the now-discredited ‘shaken baby syndrome’ (SBS) theory.”
In October 2025, Roberson’s execution was halted just days before “he was set to be the first person in the U.S. to be put to death for a conviction tied to shaken baby syndrome,” according to ABC 7 KTLA.
During a Zoom hearing Friday, Judge Jackson discussed the next steps in Roberson’s case. CBS 19 reported, “Roberson’s legal team has pushed for a new evidentiary hearing based on developments in science used to convict Roberson.”
The request for a new evidentiary hearing stems from a 2025 Dallas County case in which Andrew Roark was released after serving 24 years in prison, according to ABC 7 KTLA. Roark’s legal team argued that new scientific evidence, if it had been available at the time of trial, “would more likely than not have changed Andrew Wayne Roark’s conviction,” CBS 19 reported.
ABC 7 KTLA reported that Roberson’s attorneys are seeking to establish parallels between Roberson’s case and Roark’s case.
The state’s attorney argues that “there was plenty of other evidence outside shaken baby syndrome to convict Roberson,” according to ABC 7 KTLA.
Judge Jackson will consider written arguments from both the defense and the state to determine how the evidence in Roberson’s case applies to precedent set in the Roark case.
A decision on whether another hearing is needed will be made after the written arguments are submitted. Those filings are “due by May 29,” according to ABC 7 KTLA.
The Innocence Project states that “no credible evidence shows Mr. Roberson did anything to harm Nikki, and multiple medical experts now agree Nikki’s death was likely caused by an undiagnosed pneumonia and dangerous medications prescribed by doctors who failed to diagnose the pneumonia.”
Roberson was also diagnosed with autism shortly after his conviction, according to the Innocence Project, which said he was “misjudged by medical staff and police who assumed that his flat demeanor during his daughter’s medical crisis was a reason to suspect him.”
Detective Brian Wharton, the lead detective in the Roberson case who helped secure the conviction, has “reversed his position and says he regrets his role,” according to the Innocence Project.
“I am now 100% convinced that Robert is an innocent man. That we made terrible mistakes,” Wharton said. “If you are one of those who is committed to justice, then I ask you to help us save this innocent father. Call on the state of Texas to stop this wrongful execution now.”
CBS 19 reported that “Roberson, who has faced execution multiple times, has continued to maintain his innocence.”
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