Acclaimed author John Grisham has joined a chorus of voices calling for the reprieve of Robert Roberson, a man scheduled to be executed in Texas on October 17th. Roberson was convicted based on the now-discredited theory of 'shaken baby syndrome' and Grisham argues that no crime ever took place.
has joined scores of bipartisan politicians, lawyers, scientists and doctors in sounding the alarm that Texas is about to execute an innocent man convicted of a crime that never happened.
As his execution date on 17 October approaches, Roberson’s options are closing down. Last week the Texas court of criminal appeals denied his appeal. The author began life working as a lawyer in criminal cases in a small town in Mississippi. He wrote his first novel, A Time to Kill, in 1989 and went on to have a stream of bestsellers.
The clemency petition argues that Roberson’s conviction was based on three serious mistakes. When Nikki was rushed to hospital in February 2002 in a comatose state, medical personnel concluded that she had been violently shaken without looking at her actual medical record. Brian Wharton, the lead detective in the case who testified against Roberson at trial, now believes that the entire prosecution that he spearheaded was based on a fallacy. Last yearthe Guardian: “There was no crime scene, no forensic evidence. It was just three words: shaken baby syndrome. Without them, he would be a free man today.”
John Grisham Execution Wrongful Conviction Shaken Baby Syndrome Robert Roberson
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