Robert Roberson judge leaves death row case for unknown reason

The judge presiding over death row inmate Robert Roberson's case recused herself for an undisclosed reason on Monday.

Roberson was found guilty of capital murder in 2003 for the death of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki. A doctor in Dallas determined the child died from "shaken baby syndrome," or head trauma caused by violent shaking.

Roberson was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at the Huntsville Unit in Texas on October 17. The Texas Supreme Court granted him a stay of execution to allow him to testify before the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence. A new execution date has not been set yet.

Retired District Judge Deborah Oakes Evans first came onto Roberson's case in 2016. She retired in 2022, but she was assigned to the case again this year.

She did not give a reason for her recusal.

"I have not yet been served with this order and do not know anything about what prompted Judge Evans to sign this order soon before Thanksgiving," Gretchen Sween, Roberson's attorney, told The Texas Tribune.

Defense attorneys asked Evans to voluntarily recuse herself on September 25. They alleged that Evans returning to the case after retirement was an "opaque process." They also said Evans has "deep personal relationships" with the original prosecutor on the case, the judge who terminated Roberson's parental rights, and the current Anderson County district attorney.

Evans declined to step aside at the time. An administrative judge heard arguments on the motion on October 15, two days before Roberson's scheduled execution date. The judge denied the recusal.

New studies have found that the symptoms once attributed to "shaken baby syndrome" could also be linked to other causes such as falls or pneumonia. Since 1992, at least 34 defendants accused of inflicting shaken baby syndrome or abusive head trauma have been exonerated.

Nikki was chronically ill and had been taken to the hospital multiple times before her death for persistent respiratory issues and a fever.

Roberson has maintained his innocence in the case.

Brian Wharton, who was a chief detective with the Palestine Police Department, arrested Roberson before an autopsy had been completed. Wharton apologized to Roberson in July to apologize in a conversation recorded by The New York Times.

"Let me just say, I am so sorry that you're here and so sorry that you are still here," Wharton told Roberson. "It's our failure."

Five death row inmates have been executed this year in the state of Texas. Nationwide, a total of 22 executions have been carried out this year so far.

Do you have a story Newsweek should be covering? Do you have any questions about this story? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com.