The Texas cop who led the investigation into the case of a death row inmate convicted of shaking his baby girl to death insists he's an "innocent man" hours before he's scheduled to die by lethal injection.
The execution of Robert Roberson, 57, is slated for Thursday evening after having spent 20 years on condemned row for the capital murder of his 2-year-old daughter Nikki Curtis in Palestine, Texas in 2002.
At the time, Roberson was convicted of shaken baby syndrome, based on debunked, faulty scientific evidence.
Later on, the investigation confirmed Nikki died from double pneumonia, pre-existing conditions that were treated with now-banned opioids, and undiagnosed sepsis, according to the Texas Tribune.
"He's an innocent man and we're very close to killing him for something he did not do," Brian Wharton, the Palestine police detective who led the investigation into Nikki's death said Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
Roberson's fate now rests in the hands of Gov. Greg Abbott, who has the authority to grant a one-time 30-day reprieve after a district court judge refused to vacate his execution and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles – in a 6-0 vote – declined to commute his sentence to life in prison or pause his looming execution, earlier this week, the outlet reported.
"We urge Governor Abbott to grant a reprieve of 30 days to allow litigation to continue and have a court hear the overwhelming new medical and scientific evidence that shows Robert Roberson's chronically ill, two-year-old daughter, Nikki, died of natural and accidental causes, not abuse," Roberson's defense attorney, Gretchen Sween, said in a statement Wednesday. "A reprieve will also give Texas legislators time to investigate why Texas's vaunted 'changed science' habeas law, which allows prisoners to challenge convictions based on science that turns out to be disproven or wrong, is not being applied as intended in the courts."
"We pray that Governor Abbott does everything in his power to prevent the tragic, irreversible mistake of executing an innocent man," said Sween.
Eighty-four Texas lawmakers called on the board to grant Roberson – whose autism went undiagnosed until 2018 – clemency, "out of grave concern that Texas may put him to death for a crime that did not occur," according to USA TODAY.
"It should shock all Texans that we are barreling towards an execution in the face of this new evidence," the bipartisan group of politicians wrote. "Other states look to Texas as a leader for both enforcing the rule of law and addressing wrongful convictions. We now look to you to prevent our state from tarnishing that reputation by allowing this execution to proceed."
Speaking with NBC News earlier this month, Roberson echoed the sentiment of his supporters.
"I would like the public to know that I'm innocent," Roberson said, the network reported. "I'm not guilty of this."
