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LIVINGSTON \u2014 A bipartisan group of state representatives is currently visiting the Polunsky Unit in Livingston to show support for death row inmate Robert Roberson, just days before his scheduled execution.<\/p>\nLIVINGSTON \u2014 A bipartisan group of state representatives is currently visiting the Polunsky Unit in Livingston to show support for death row inmate Robert Roberson, just days before his scheduled execution.<\/p>\n
According to our news partner KETK, those in attendance include State Reps. John Bucy (D-Austin), Jeff Leach (R-Allen), Lacey Hull (R-Houston) and Rhetta Bowers (D-Rowlett), all of whom have publicly expressed concerns about Roberson\u2019s conviction and the evidence used against him. Roberson was convicted in 2003 of killing his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, a case that has since drawn national attention and renewed scrutiny from lawmakers, medical experts, and criminal justice reform advocates.<\/p>\n
Jeff Leach brought some new information to light on behalf of the other representatives, stating that they are just asking for a pause button and a new tria,l considering that Roberson was denied the chance to defend his innocence in front of a jury<\/p>\n
\u201cTo my legislative colleagues on the other side of this issue who want to see him executed next week, and believe that nothing went wrong with the trial. I would ask them to comment on the fact that Robert\u2019s own attorney. When Robert asked to be heard, when Robert asked to go in front of the jury to tell his side of the story to tell them I\u2019m innocent, his attorney wouldn\u2019t let him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lawmakers\u2019 visit comes amid new revelations brought to light by NBC\u2019s Lester Holt\u2019s podcast Last Appeal, which reported that Anderson County Judge Bascom Bentley \u2014 who presided over Roberson\u2019s trial \u2014 also authorized the removal of Nikki Curtis from life support.<\/p>\n
Roberson\u2019s attorney, Gretchen Sween, said that Bentley\u2019s dual role represents a serious conflict of interest that was never disclosed to the defense.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is now indisputable that Robert\u2019s case was infected by egregious judicial misconduct from the outset,\u201d Sween said. \u201cThat the Anderson County judge who presided over Robert\u2019s trial never disclosed that he is the one who authorized circumventing Robert\u2019s parental rights and violating Texas law so that Nikki\u2019s removal from life support could be hastened\u2014and then her father was charged with capital murder\u2014is very disturbing. It\u2019s shocking that we are discovering the truth about this glaring, undisclosed evidence of bias only by chance, from a podcast, days before Robert is scheduled to be executed for a tragedy that has been mislabeled as a crime.\u201d<\/p>\n
What to know about the Roberson case:<\/strong><\/p>\n On January 31, 2002, Roberson brought his daughter to the Palestine Regional Medical Center after she suffered extensive injuries, including bruises to her chin, face, ears, eyes, shoulder and mouth. A nurse who testified at trial said Nikki had a hand print on her face and her skull was bruised and \u201cmushy.\u201d<\/p>\n She died the following day.<\/p>\n Roberson had a history of violent tendencies to the point that witnesses testified they were afraid to leave him alone with Nikki, as he would whip her whenever she cried. He would hit her with his hands, a board, a paddle, and in at least one instance, he threw her off the bed.<\/p>\n A statement from Ken Paxton\u2019s office indicated that Roberson\u2019s mother has said, \u201cOne of these days, he\u2019s going to kill her, and it will be too late for anyone to do anything about it.\u201d<\/p>\n In February 2003, an Anderson County jury found Roberson guilty of capital murder, concluding he fatally shook his daughter, a finding based largely on the now-disputed \u201cshaken baby syndrome\u201d theory.<\/p>\n Prosecutors pointed to Roberson\u2019s calm demeanor as evidence of guilt, while his defense argued that his autism diagnosis and limited education affected his ability to express emotion.<\/p>\n Roberson\u2019s 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\u2019s ability to communicate and show emotion. The defense said that Roberson was convicted under a \u201cnow-debunked shaken baby syndrome theory\u201d for the death.<\/p>\n Roberson\u2019s legal team now contends that new medical evidence shows Nikki died from pneumonia and related complications, worsened by improperly prescribed medications and a short fall from bed, not from abuse.<\/p>\n In October 2024, Roberson\u2019s execution was halted by the Texas Supreme Court just hours before the order was set to expire. By July 2025, Smith County Judge Austin Reeve Jackson ordered Roberson\u2019s execution to be set for Oct. 16 at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n If he is put to death, it will be the first execution in the U.S. based on a shaken baby syndrome diagnosis.<\/p>\n Previous Robert Roberson Coverage Timeline:<\/strong><\/p>\n Sept. 25, 2025: Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson will not seek clemency ahead of October execution Oct. 28, 2024:Robert Roberson\u2019s brother maintains his innocence with new letter LIVINGSTON \u2014 A bipartisan group of state representatives is currently visiting the Polunsky Unit in Livingston to show support for death row inmate Robert Roberson, just days before his scheduled execution. According to our news partner KETK, those in attendance include State Reps. John Bucy (D-Austin), Jeff Leach (R-Allen), Lacey Hull (R-Houston) and Rhetta Bowers … Continue reading Lawmakers visit Roberson days before execution<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1447590,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/wp-content\/media\/2025\/10\/ROBERTROBERSON.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[177],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1447933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news-archive-archives"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-07 20:18:01","action":"change-status","newStatus":"trash","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/wp-content\/media\/2025\/10\/ROBERTROBERSON.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1447933"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1447995,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1447933\/revisions\/1447995"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1447590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1447933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1447933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ktbb.com\/post\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1447933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nSept. 10, 2025: New book looks into death row inmate Robert Roberson claiming wrongful conviction
\nJuly 17, 2025: Friction in the family: Argument breaks out at Roberson\u2019s hearing
\nJuly 16, 2025: BLOG: Execution date set for Robert Roberson \u2018shaken baby\u2019 case
\nJune 17, 2025: New execution date hearing set in Robert Roberson case
\nOct. 29, 2024: Brother of Nikki Curtis describes 20-year quest for justice<\/p>\n
\nOct. 28, 2024: EXCLUSIVE: Nikki Curtis\u2019 family breaks silence on Roberson hearings
\nOct. 17, 2024: Texas Supreme Court halts execution of East Texas man accused in shaken baby syndrome case
\nOct. 15, 2024: Execution warrant upheld in case of East Texas man on death row for death of daughter
\nSept. 28, 2024:Texas lawmakers meet with Palestine man on death row
\nJan. 31, 2022:East Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson demands new trial<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"