Defense files new execution motion for Palestinian man on death row

AUSTIN, Texas (KLTV) – Robert Roberson’s defense has once again appealed for a stay of execution.

Roberson, 59, of Palestine, who was convicted in 2003 in the 2002 death of his daughter, is scheduled to be executed Thursday. Roberson has long maintained that he is innocent and has received the support and advocacy of people across the country who believe his conviction is unfounded. On Tuesday, Judge Alfonso Charles rejected requests to vacate the execution order and remove the judge who issued the arrest warrant.

A back-to-back habeas petition and an emergency petition for a stay of execution were filed late Monday with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, according to a press release from Roberson’s defense on Wednesday. The filing asks the court to “consider the mountain of medical and scientific evidence demonstrating that his chronically ill two-year-old daughter, Nikki, died as a result of illness, an accident and improper medication, and not murder.”

Late Tuesday, members of the Texas House of Representatives who serve on the Criminal Justice Committee also submitted a letter to the CCA. The letter reads in part:

“…respectfully request a stay of execution for Robert Roberson until the end of the 2025 legislative session to allow the Legislature to consider changes to Article 11.073 and other laws that may impact this case.” We believe that Article 11.073 in In cases like Mr. Roberson’s, the route to appeal – or even to a new trial – was not the one intended by the legislature. Here, significant scientific and medical evidence, which no jury has been able to hear, shows that natural and accidental causes can explain the death of his chronically ill daughter Nikki, and not just the abusive tremors that the state alleged at trial must have caused her death. There is no question that the medical evidence presented in Mr. Roberson’s trial in 2003 is inconsistent with modern scientific principles. Article 11,073 was intended precisely for cases like this.”

The Texas House of Representatives Criminal Justice Committee has scheduled a hearing on the application of Article 11.073 in capital cases. The hearing begins at 10 a.m. and will be streamed live on their website.

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