Texas attorney general issues damning statement on death row inmate as activists plead for his life

The Texas Attorney General has deed backmost astatine authorities legislators aft they managed to hold nan execution of a man connected decease statement for sidesplitting his two-year-old daughter. 

Ken Paxton issued a connection aft nan execution of Robert Roberson, 57, was delayed pursuing an 11th hr bid by lawmakers to overturn his decease sentence.

Roberson was group to dice by lethal injection pursuing his condemnation for sidesplitting his toddler daughter, Nikki Curtis, astatine his Palestine, Texas home.

He was convicted successful 2002, pinch investigators blaming it connected nan now-discredited shaken babe syndrome (SBS). 

On Wednesday, Paxton released a missive and backed nan original condemnation and condemned Roberson's advocates successful nan process. 

The missive included Curtis's autopsy, statements from witnesses successful nan trial, and claims from a cellmate that Roberson had sexually abused his daughter. 

A bipartisan group of 86 Texas lawmakers has urged clemency for Roberson, citing 'voluminous caller technological evidence' that casts uncertainty connected his guilt. 

Insisting connected his guilt, Paxton accused nan bipartisan committee who played a awesome domiciled successful nan enactment of execution of utilizing 'extrajudicial stunts' to extremity it.

The missive straight challenges claims by Roberson's lawyers and nan group of lawmakers that Curtis did not dice arsenic a consequence of SBS.

They judge that nan young girl's origin of decease whitethorn person been misdiagnosed, claiming she was chronically sick and had a precocious fever.

Paxton's missive claims that an emergency room caregiver who testified astatine nan proceedings said that Curtis had 'a handprint connected her face, and that nan backmost of her skull was mushy'. 

It says that family members had reported that Roberson was physically abusive, and had whipped Curtis, arsenic good arsenic struck her pinch a committee aliases a paddle previously. 

He besides says that Roberson told a erstwhile cellmate, Ryan Lodygowski, that he had 'put his penis successful nan baby's mouth'. 

According to Lodygowski, Roberson said he deed his girl connected nan backmost of her caput pinch his manus and past dropped her connected nan head. 

Paxton wrote: 'A conjugation of activists and State legislators is interfering pinch nan justness strategy successful an unprecedented measurement successful an effort to stall aliases forestall Roberson's execution. 

'They person attempted to mislead nan nationalist by falsely claiming that Roberson was unfairly convicted done 'junk science' concerning 'shaken babe syndrome.'

'Despite these eleventh-hour, one-sided, extrajudicial stunts that effort to obscure nan facts and rewrite his past, nan truth remains.'

Despite nan damning connection made by Paxton, Roberson's defense squad released a rebuttal saying it was a lawsuit of SBS that he was convicted on. 

His lawyer Gretchen Sween said: 'Again, each you person to do is spell look astatine nan proceedings transcripts themselves - it was a shaken babe lawsuit from nan opening of assemblage action each nan measurement done to nan end.'

Other points made successful their 27-page rebuttal opportunity that nan autopsy, aesculapian examiner and witness reports were either flawed, falsified aliases disproved. 

Brian Wharton, nan lead detective successful Roberson's conviction, has came guardant successful caller times and now believes he sewage it each wrong.

He besides released a statement, saying nan claims made by Paxton astir intersexual maltreatment are baseless and unreliable. 

Wharton wrote: 'As a detective successful Palestine, Texas, I was very acquainted pinch this benignant of "jailhouse confession" allegation. 

'That specified worldly has been irresponsibly highlighted and is being treated arsenic truthful accusation saddens maine deeply. 

'The root of this accusation successful 2002, Ryan Lodygowski, was often successful problem pinch nan rule and ne'er worthy of trust. 

'In my view, he was specified an evidently unreliable informant I would not person entertained a speech pinch him.'

Travis County Judge Jessica Mangrum had blocked his execution truthful that he could attest earlier nan Texas legislature. 

The legislature issued a lawsuit for Roberson's grounds nan time earlier his execution and Mangrum has approved a impermanent restraining order. Roberson's grounds has since been postponed. 

Prosecutors - and nan assemblage - astatine nan clip wished that Curtis had died not from a autumn but from being shaken to decease by her father. 

But successful nan years since, doctors person stepped distant from assigning shaken babe syndrome (SBS) arsenic a origin of death.

The intelligence who projected it himself moreover admitted that it was being utilized to 'put guiltless group successful prison', informing successful 2012 'we person gone severely disconnected nan rails.'

Roberson was fixed custody of Nikki by her maternal grandparents aft her mother, who has remained unnamed was denied custody successful nan infirmary aft her birth.

In nan week anterior her death, Nikki had been sick and appeared astatine a section emergency room wherever she was prescribed Phenergan and sent home.

After her information didn't improve, doctors again prescribed her much Phenergan and codeine, an opioid now restricted from children nether nan property of 18.

The pursuing nighttime she had gone to slumber beside her father, who woke up to find her unconscious.

Roberson was a parolee astatine nan clip of his daughter's decease pinch erstwhile convictions for burglary and theft and parole violations.

Sween said his autism spectrum disorder, which was not diagnosed until 2018, was besides not taken into relationship and contributed to his apprehension and conviction.

During nan aesculapian situation involving his daughter, Roberson 'shut down, and his outer deficiency of impact was judged arsenic a deficiency of caring,' Sween said.