Robert Robertson’s Hotly Contested Execution Scheduled For Thursday

Robert Robertson, a Texas man convicted of abusing and causing the death of his daughter due to “Shaken Baby Syndrome,” is set to die on Thursday if the government of Texas declines to intervene. Convicted in 2002 of abusing and violently handling his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, to the point of death, many of Robertson’s accusers have since retracted their claims, with the lead detective on his case now actively advocating for his release.

According to the detective, Brian Wharton, Nikki suffered from a number of conditions that were not taken properly into account at the time, including pneumonia, sepsis, and the effects of since-banned opioid medication she had been prescribed. Brian, now a Methodist pastor, says he “did not hear” Robert like he should have when he worked the case.

One of the driving factors in Robert’s conviction was his seemingly emotionless state when he brought Nikki to a hospital for treatment after what he claimed was a fall out of her bed. Nikki also was suffering from a severe fever at the time. However, Robertson is autistic, which commonly leads to a lack of extreme emotion in intense situations, a fact that was largely overlooked at the time of his conviction.

Beyond Wharton’s advocacy, a bipartisan group of 84 state lawmakers have petitioned the Texas Board of Paroles and Pardons to request that Robertson be granted clemency. Robertson’s case is another addition to the increasingly common series of high-profile last-minute death row crises, the most recent before his being Marcellus Williams, a Missouri man convicted of fatally stabbing a woman in 1998. It remains to be seen whether the Texas state government plans to act before Robertson’s execution.