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October 17, 2024

Texas Court Denies Clemency to Robert Roberson, Sentenced to Death over "Junk Science" Forensics
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The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has denied an 11th-hour request by
death row prisoner Robert Roberson to halt his planned execution today -
despite evidence his 2003 conviction for the murder of his 2-year-old
daughter was based on "junk science." Unless Texas Governor Greg Abbott
or the U.S. Supreme Court intervenes, Roberson is set to be executed at
6 p.m. this evening. The appeals court ruling came even after a
bipartisan group of lawmakers requested a stay of execution, writing,
"We believe it would be a stain on the conscience of the State of Texas
for an execution to proceed while efforts are underway to remedy
deficiencies in how the law was applied to this case."

Roberson's conviction was based solely on forensic testimony that cited
the "shaken baby syndrome hypothesis," which was popularized in the
early 2000s but never scientifically validated.


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