Court sets execution date for East Texas man

ANDERSON COUNTY – A hearing in Palestine for death row inmate Robert Roberson, took place Wednesday morning after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton requested a new execution date in his case involving the death of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis.

According to a report from our news partner KETK, the hearing was scheduled by Smith County District Court Judge Austin Reeve Jackson, who has been assigned to handle the case in Anderson County.

On January 31, 2002, Roberson took his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, to Palestine Regional Medical Center with severe trauma to her head, and the following day, she died from her injuries. In 2003, an East Texas jury decided, beyond a reasonable doubt, that Roberson caused the death of his daughter by violently shaking her. Medical staff and the lead detective on the case were suspicious of Roberson’s seemingly cold demeanor at the time of his daughter’s death, viewing it as an indication of guilt.

Roberson’s legal team explained that he was a special education student who dropped out of school in the ninth grade, and has been diagnosed with autism, which can impact a person’s ability to communicate and show emotion. The defense said that Roberson was convicted under a “now-debunked shaken baby syndrome theory” for the death.

At 10 a.m., Smith County District Court Judge Austin Reeve Jackson arrived at the Anderson County Courthouse. The Roberson family and the Curtis family are entering the courtroom, and while the two families were entering the courtroom, they began arguing back and forth at each other.

At 11 a.m., Roberson arrived at the Anderson County Courthouse for his execution date hearing.

By 11:10 a.m., Smith County District Court Judge Austin Reeve Jackson and Roberson had both entered the courtroom. According to the defense, if an execution date were to be set, Roberson would be on “death watch,” meaning he would be taken out of the “death row pilot program”, where he was chosen to be able to be out of his cell daily and out of shackles due to his good behavior.

At 11:30 a.m., The court has ordered the execution date for Roberson to be set for October 16, 2025, at 6 p.m.
After his execution date was set, he was immediately transferred out of the Anderson County Courthouse. Supporters, detractors, and Roberson’s defense team sat in silence, still absorbing the verdict.