New execution date requested for Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — A man whose execution was delayed last year by an unprecedented move by Texas lawmakers could soon get a new execution date. On Monday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton requested a new execution date for Robert Roberson.

Attorneys for Roberson filed an objection to the request. They describe him as "an innocent man who was wrongfully convicted for the 2002 death of his chronically ill toddler daughter, Nikki." His attorneys released a statement announcing their motion to object to the new execution date.

"Robert Roberson is innocent. Yet Attorney General Paxton, whose office just recently took over the State’s representation, is trying to execute him even though Robert has presented powerful new evidence of his innocence to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals," Gretchen Sween, attorney for Roberson, wrote in the statement.

The Office of Attorney General did not respond to requests for comment on the case.

Roberson was convicted in 2003 of murdering his two-year-old daughter. He has maintained his innocence ever since. Roberson's attorneys said his conviction was largely based on a “shaken baby syndrome” hypothesis, which is now considered outdated science. Instead, they said there is considerable evidence that Roberson’s daughter died of natural causes, not homicide.

In hearings during the fall of 2024, a bipartisan group of lawmakers on the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee agreed that outdated science was used to convict Roberson. Members met with Roberson on Death Row and said they believe he deserves a second trial.

Roberson was scheduled to be executed on Oct. 17 last year. But in an unprecedented move, the committee issued a subpoena to have Roberson testify in front of members days after his execution date. The last-minute legal maneuvering over the legislative subpoena led the Texas Supreme Court to temporarily pause the execution. The Court later ruled that a legislative subpoena cannot be used to stop an execution.

After Roberson's execution was delayed in October, Paxton posted information from the trial record on social media. He said the record shows Roberson had a history of abusing his daughter, citing an autopsy report from the trial that states Nikki's death was due to "blunt force trauma."

Paxton wrote that efforts by state lawmakers to get a new trial for Roberson were "based on lies."

The state of Texas has a “junk science” law which allows prisoners to challenge their convictions if new scientific evidence shows the evidence used against them was flawed. Committee members called for having Roberson come to the Capitol to testify as part of an inquiry into whether courts were properly adhering to the law, which allows for new trials in cases where scientific evidence is later found faulty.

The Texas Office of Attorney General blocked the request to have Roberson testify in person. The filing argued that transporting Roberson to the Capitol would create security risks and said the House Committee did not follow procedural rules to issue the warrant.

The committee disbanded in January with the start of the 89th Legislative Session, never hearing Roberson's testimony in person.

Monday's request from the Attorney General's Office means a judge could set a new execution date no earlier than 90 days after the request date. Roberson's attorneys said they have revealed new information that should be heard in court to prove his innocence.

"The AG’s unjustified rush to seek an execution date while that new evidence of innocence is before the court is outrageous," Sween's statement said.