Parole Board Rejects Pardon for Man Facing Execution Despite GOP Push

The Texas board of Pardon and Paroles rejected on Wednesday a pardon request for a man scheduled to be executed for a murder conviction related to the shaken baby syndrome.

As reported by the Associated Press, the parole board voted to not recommend that Robert Roberson be pardoned. Many state Republicans had urged Gov. Greg Abbott to stop Roberson’s execution, arguing his conviction and thus the diagnosis being based on now outdated scientific evidence.

Abbott can only grant a pardon after receiving a recommendation from the board.

Now, Roberson, 57, is scheduled to be executed with a lethal injection on Thursday evening. He was sentenced for the killing of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in 2002. Roberson has claimed his innocence, and has received the help of a bipartisan group of legislators, medical experts and advocates.

This group argued that, while the girl had signs of abuse, the shaken baby syndrome diagnosis – referred to a serious brain injury caused by blunt force trauma or violent shaking– was invalid and that Curtis had died from complications related to severe pneumonia.

The AP noted that the American Academy of Pediatrics said the diagnosis is valid as doctors look at all possible variables when determining if injuries were attributable to shaken baby syndrome. However, other institutions have questioned its validity and scientific challenges have been increasing.

The Houston Chronicle reported that 86 House members including Democrats and Republicans signed a letter calling for Roberson’s pardon. This group included some of the most conservative GOP lawmakers like Rep. Brian Harrison.

“There should be no Republicans in Texas who blindly trust government to get matters of life and death 100% correct,” Harrison wrote on X last week. “Unfortunately, there is a big government right just like there is a big government left. I reject both. Liberty demands it.”

Republicans expected the parole board, consisting of members appointed by Abbott would recommend a pardon, however, now that they voted no, Roberson will likely become the first person to be executed in the U.S. for a case related to shaken baby syndrome.