Death row inmate set to be executed in days may be innocent, lawmakers say

A Texan man, who has been on Death Row for over two decades, might be "innocent" as lawmakers are pleading for mercy . Robert Roberson was convicted of killing his young daughter and has consistently claimed his innocence as his execution date nears .

The Death Row devil is set to receive a lethal injection on October 17. Prosecutors argued that his daughter Nikki Curtis died from injuries caused by violent shaking, and Roberson was found guilty after bringing her lifeless, blue body to the hospital.

He maintained that while they were sleeping in their East Texas home, near Palestine, Nikki fell off the bed and when he woke up, she wasn't breathing.

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Medical staff suspected child abuse as they didn't believe a minor fall could have resulted in the fatal injuries.

During the trial, doctors testified that Nikki's death was consistent with shaken baby syndrome, a condition where a child suffers severe injuries from being violently thrown back and forth. Despite the jury's guilty verdict, Roberson has always insisted he is innocent, reports the Express US .

Roberson, who is autistic, has his lawyers arguing that his behavior was unjustly used against him in court, and that medical professionals didn't adequately consider other potential causes for Curtis' symptoms like pneumonia.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted his execution back in 2016, only to greenlight the case this year, scheduling a new execution date for Roberson.

Defense attorneys have raised concerns about the validity of shaken baby syndrome science in Roberson's case, yet prosecutors claim the evidence remains strong.

In Texas, a rare bipartisan group of lawmakers is urging Governor Greg Abbott and the Board of Pardons and Paroles to halt Roberson's imminent execution, showcasing an exceptional level of cross-party unity from 84 GOP-majority state House members and backed by medical authorities, death penalty lawyers, a former detective on the case, and acclaimed author John Grishaman extraordinary consensus given the grim nature of the circumstances.

Democrat Rep. Joe Moody emphasized at a state Capitol news conference, "There is a strong majority, a bipartisan majority, of the Texas House that have serious doubts about Robert Roberson's execution," stressing that political ideology is secondary when it comes to such critical decisions.

In a significant shift, former lead detective Brian Wharton from Palestine, integral to Roberson's conviction, now insists on stopping the execution and has joined others by signing a petition. "Knowing everything I know now, I am firmly convinced that Robert is innocent," he declared.

In Texas, the governor has the power to grant a rare 30-day stay of execution, but it requires a majority of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, appointed by the governor, to grant full clemency.

Since Governor Abbott assumed office in 2015, he has only spared one life from death row: Thomas Whitaker, whose sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in February 2018. Now, Roberson's legal team is pushing for clemency, arguing that his conviction is based on discredited evidence of shaken baby syndrome.

Their argument is straightforward: "Nikki's death ... was not a crime unless it is a crime for a parent to be unable to explain complex medical problems that even trained medical professionals failed to understand at the time," their plea states.

They highlight the tragic circumstances leading up to her death, specifically Nikki's severe lung infections and chronic episodes of 'breathing apnea' that resulted in sudden and alarming collapses.