4.4 • 13.2K Ratings
🗓️ 6 November 2024
⏱️ 40 minutes
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With his execution halted, will Robert Roberson finally have a chance at justice as new evidence, legislative allies, and a growing public outcry push for a retrial? Robert Roberson, who was set to be executed on October 17, 2024, for the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter Nikki, was granted a last-minute stay by the Texas Supreme Court. This unexpected reprieve followed a subpoena from Texas lawmakers requesting Roberson’s testimony before the House Criminal Justice Committee. Roberson’s conviction heavily relied on the now-disputed "shaken baby syndrome" diagnosis, but new evidence suggests Nikki’s death may have resulted from natural causes, like pneumonia. Both the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals previously declined to intervene, and the Supreme Court’s decision has sparked debate over the balance of power between Texas’s legislative and judicial branches. The case has drawn national attention, bolstered by support from Dr. Phil, who testified before the Texas Legislature on Roberson’s behalf. The debate has also reignited scrutiny of forensic evidence standards and Texas’s 2013 "junk science" law as lawmakers and courts reconsider Roberson’s fate. Dr. Phil speaks with Terre, a 2003 juror from Roberson’s trial who now believes in his innocence, stating she wasn’t presented with all the evidence. Roberson’s attorney, Gretchen Sween, insists that, despite opposition from the Attorney General’s office, he deserves a new trial. In support, Representatives Joe Moody (D), Lacey Hull (R), and Brian Harrison (R) have joined forces in a bipartisan coalition advocating for clemency and a retrial. Former Los Angeles prosecutor and news anchor Loni Coombs argues that if the Attorney General is confident in Roberson’s guilt, they should welcome a retrial to resolve lingering doubts once and for all.
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0:00.0 | This man has not had due process. This man has not had a fair trial. Convicted of murdering his own |
0:07.8 | two-year-old daughter. The attorney general issued a letter. He said the jury did not convict on the |
0:13.1 | basis of shaken baby syndrome. True? No. Can you demonstrate what they demonstrated in trial? |
0:19.1 | They shook it like this to show us how the head would shake violently. |
0:22.4 | The divide in this case is very simple. |
0:23.8 | It's between those who know the facts of the case |
0:25.9 | and those who don't. |
0:36.4 | Tonight, I want you to imagine being in the shoes of a man named Robert Roberson. |
0:42.3 | Here's a man who's been sitting on death row for 21 years, convicted of murdering his own two-year-old daughter, Nikki. |
0:50.3 | But this story isn't as cut and dried as it might seem at first glance. |
0:55.0 | We're dealing with a case that has stirred up so much controversy. |
1:00.0 | On one side, we've got the Texas justice system saying Robert beat his little girl to death. |
1:06.0 | On the other, we've got a group of lawmakers and advocates crying foul, saying this man just |
1:13.1 | might be innocent. |
1:14.1 | Now, I've seen my share of family tragedies, but this one has a lot of twist and turns |
1:20.0 | that I tried to unpack a couple of weeks ago when Robert was just hours away from being |
1:25.6 | executed. |
1:26.6 | We're talking about something that has been called |
1:29.3 | Shaken Baby Syndrome, |
1:31.3 | junk science, autism, pneumonia, |
1:34.3 | and a whole lot of finger pointing. |
1:36.3 | Here's what happened last time. |
... |
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