Stop the execution of Robert Roberson, an innocent father

Mr. Roberson has spent 22 years on death row for a crime that never happened. Join us to call on all of the relevant Texas authorities to intervene to stop this execution and prevent a grave miscarriage of justice.

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To: Texas Authorities

I urge you to stop the scheduled execution of Robert Roberson on October 16, 2025. Mr. Roberson is on death row in Texas for a crime that never occurred. He recently filed two motions in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) to try to stop his execution. If Mr. Roberson’s execution is not stayed, he will be the first person executed in the United States for a conviction obtained using the now widely debunked ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome’ hypothesis.​

No court has yet reviewed the mountain of evidence proving that the tragic 2002 death of Mr. Roberson’s chronically ill toddler, Nikki, resulted from illness, medical error, and accident, none of which was Mr. Roberson’s fault. ​

In 2002, Mr. Roberson’s two-year old daughter, Nikki, was sick with a high fever and undiagnosed pneumonia when she suffered a short fall from bed. Doctors had prescribed her Phenergan, a powerful medication that is no longer approved for children Nikki’s age and in her condition because of its respiratory-suppressing effects. She was also prescribed Codeine, a narcotic, not recommended for anyone under age eighteen. Mr. Roberson took Nikki to the emergency room, but hospital staff didn’t know of his undiagnosed autism. They misinterpreted his affect and subdued reaction to his daughter’s grave condition as a suspicious lack of emotion.​ The police and prosecutors similarly rushed to judgment and, after Nikki tragically died, Mr. Roberson was prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to death under the now-discredited Shaken Baby Syndrome hypothesis.

Mr. Roberson has spent 22 years on death row for a crime that never happened. We are calling on all of the relevant Texas authorities to intervene to stop this execution and prevent a grave miscarriage of justice.

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Photo: Robert and Nikki, courtesy of the Roberson family