Texas Death Row Inmate Makes 11th-Hour Plea for Mercy Before His Execution Claiming 'Autism'

A 57-year-old inmate on death row for murdering his two-year-old daughter in 2003 has made a last-ditch attempt to escape execution .

Knewz.com has learned that Robert Roberson III, after spending more than two decades on death row, claimed he has autism and for this reason - among others - should not be executed .

Roberson’s lawyers cited a lack of emotion at the time of his daughter Nikki’s death, as proof of a psychological ailment. They also appealed his impending execution because Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) - which at the time was the named cause of Roberson’s toddler’s death - has since been broadly invalidated.

SBS, according to Mount Sinai is the result of a baby ’s moving brain backward and forward in their skull and can be caused by as little as five seconds of shaking. It is noted to be most common in children under the age of two years.

“This can cause bruising of the brain (cerebral contusion), swelling, pressure, and bleeding in the brain. The large veins along the outside of the brain may tear, leading to further bleeding, swelling, and increased pressure. This can easily cause permanent brain damage or death,” a publication by the medical institution notes.

Roberson said lack of emotion was a key factor leading up to his arrest because along with it, the type of injuries sustained by the toddler led the hospital staff to become suspicious.

As the situation surrounding the girl’s death developed, it became apparent that  Roberson could not offer a satisfying explanation.

“I can’t tell you what happened, because I don’t know,” Roberson said in an interview with KLTV 's Julian Esparza. “We went to bed that night and I’m not sure exactly what time it was exactly, you know, and when I had woke up I found her on the floor, you know, and how did she get on the floor? I don’t know.”

“Her heart was beating, and at the time she acted like she was alright and stuff and so we stayed up a bit and then finally dozed back off,” said Roberson who is now incarcerated at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Livingston.

Roberson alleged that when he woke up later Nikki was no longer breathing and that was when he took her to a hospital in Palestine, Texas .

Roberson’s execution has been stayed once already in 2016 when his attorney Gretchen Sween called SBS “junk science” and noted that it was no longer accepted.

This development has even resulted in the case’s chief detective changing his mind about Roberson’s guilt.

In 2022, Roberson found himself back in the dock as his appeal for a retrial was considered. The presiding Judge Deborah Evans opposed the appeal and the case is now with the Court of Criminal Appeals.

Roberson believes that if he is granted a new trial “things would go differently.” He also says that he is not afraid to die. When asked why he said: “I know I’m going to heaven. Because after I die, nobody can hurt me no more.”