A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers and the courts stopped an execution with hours to spare, leading to public rebuke from state Attorney General Ken Paxton. Paxton claimed that Robert Roberson was guilty of brutally beating his two-year-old daughter to death, despite the jury not convicting him of shaken baby syndrome. Paxton accused the coalition of interfering with capital punishment proceedings and released autopsy reports and other evidence to refute their claims. The attorney general’s office also alleged sexual abuse, although Roberson was never charged with this crime. The reaction to Paxton’s statement was mixed, with some saying it was misleading and others supporting it. The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee also had a hearing about Roberson’s case, which highlighted evolving medical science on shaken baby diagnosis. Roberson’s legal team, along with some witnesses and the lead detective in the case, disputed Paxton’s claims of guilt, stating that the evidence was misrepresented and unreliable. Overall, the case of Robert Roberson has sparked controversy surrounding the use of shaken baby syndrome in court decisions, with calls for further investigation and transparency.
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