Robert Roberson is again approaching execution in Texas in shaken baby case

LIVINGSTON, Texas (AP) — Robert Roberson was calm and hopeful as he pondered his mortality and whether he could again avoid becoming the first person in the U.S. executed for a murder conviction tied to the diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome.

With days to go before his scheduled Oct. 16 execution, Roberson maintained his innocence in the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, in the east Texas city of Palestine. He is set to die by lethal injection nearly a year to the day after a group of Texas lawmakers, who say he is innocent, secured an extraordinary last-minute postponement as Roberson waited outside the death chamber in Huntsville.

Roberson said he was placing his hopes for another execution stay in the hands of his lawyers, his supporters and God.

“I’m not going to stress out and stuff because I know God has it, you know. He’s in control. No matter what, God’s in control, you know, and he does have the last say, you know,” Roberson, 58, told The Associated Press last week as he sat behind a glass partition in the visiting area of the Polunsky Unit in Livingston, where Texas' male death row inmates are housed.

During an hourlong interview, Roberson said he thinks about his daughter every day and what kind of life she would have today.

Prosecutors at Roberson’s 2003 trial argued he hit his daughter and violently shook her, causing severe head trauma and that she died from injuries related to shaken baby syndrome. Roberson’s lawyers and some medical experts say his daughter died not from abuse but from complications related to pneumonia. They say his conviction was based on flawed and now outdated scientific evidence.

The diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome refers to a serious brain injury caused when a child’s head is hurt through shaking or some other violent impact, like being slammed against a wall or thrown on the floor.

Roberson’s attorneys have argued his undiagnosed autism helped convict him as authorities and medical personnel felt he didn’t act like a concerned parent because his flat affect was seen as a sign of guilt.

Last year, Roberson was on the verge of being put to death when a flurry of last-minute legal maneuvering on the night of his scheduled execution, including an unprecedented intervention by a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers, stayed his lethal injection. In July, a judge set the new execution date, Roberson's third.

During his interview with the AP, Roberson often would not keep eye contact and would repeat words or phrases — behaviors that experts say are associated with autism.

“They assumed (guilt) because of the way I was acting, you know. And I didn’t know I was autistic, you know, until years and years later, you know,” said Roberson, who wasn’t diagnosed with autism until 2018.

Roberson’s supporters and his legal team are again holding rallies and asking state and federal appeals courts and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to halt his execution. His supporters include both liberal and ultraconservative lawmakers, Texas GOP megadonor and conservative activist Doug Deason, bestselling author John Grisham and Brian Wharton, the former police detective who helped put together the case against him.

“The whole world is watching. Texas, do not kill this innocent man,” Wharton said during a rally Saturday outside the Texas Capitol in Austin.

On Wednesday afternoon a bipartisan group of four lawmakers met with Roberson for an hour at the Polunsky Unit. State Rep. Jeff Leach, a Republican, said he believes Roberson deserves a new trial.

“Doing that strengthens the system and will save what I believe is an innocent life in Robert Robertson,” Leach told reporters outside. “What a blessing it was to just spend an hour with him. And I’m hopeful and prayerful that the right thing will happen between now and next Thursday.”

The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, as well as some medical experts and other family members of Nikki, maintain the girl died because of child abuse and that Roberson had a history of hitting his daughter.

“It’s been a long time coming. … In my opinion he did it, 100%,” Matthew Bowman, Nikki's half brother, told reporters in July. Bowman declined to speak with the AP.

Abbott's office did not immediately reply to emails seeking comment. Abbott has the power to grant a one-time 30-day reprieve.

Roberson said he never hurt his daughter and had been working to turn his life around and take care of Nikki after spending time in prison for burglary and theft by check.

“I never shook her or hit her,” Roberson said, adding he never disciplined his daughter “because she was so tiny.”

Shaken baby syndrome has come under scrutiny in recent years as some lawyers and medical experts have argued the diagnosis has wrongly sent people to prison. Prosecutors and medical societies say it remains valid.

“It’s no longer a mystery what happened to Nikki. It was not shaking. It was her chronic, serious health conditions," Gretchen Sween, one of Roberson’s lawyers, said at Saturday’s rally. "A crime didn’t occur.”

But in a Sept. 26 op-ed in The Dallas Morning News, three pediatricians, including two with the Yale School of Medicine, said they reviewed the case and “are convinced that Nikki was a victim of child abuse.”

Roberson was arrested after he took Nikki to a hospital when she became unresponsive following a fall off their bed. He said he had never heard of shaken baby syndrome.

“It was bad enough losing my little girl. And then when they accused me of it, I couldn’t believe it,” Roberson said.

In a press release issued after Roberson’s execution was delayed last year as well as in recent court filings, Paxton’s office has stressed that “this was no mere shaken baby case but involved a child who was beaten and received multiple blows to the head.” Paxton’s office said the jury “did not convict Roberson on the basis of ‘Shaken Baby Syndrome.’”

Yet one of the jurors who convicted Roberson, Terre Compton, told lawmakers last year that, “everything that was presented to us was all about shaken baby syndrome. That is what our decision was based on.”

Grisham, who is writing a book about the case, said Roberson's trial “was grossly unfair” because his autism contributed to people believing he was guilty and his defense lawyers told jurors it was a case of shaken baby syndrome.

Roberson said he remains optimistic he will one day get a chance to prove his innocence with a new trial.

“I’m not scared to die, but I’m not ready to die, you know. I would like to believe God has more for me to do and stuff, you know,” Roberson said.

Follow Juan A. Lozano: https://x.com/juanlozano70

Robert Roberson waits to be interviewed in a locked visitation cell at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit prison in Livingston, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. Roberson, who has maintained his innocence on death row for more than 20 years, is scheduled to be executed on Oct. 16, for the 2002 killing of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis. (AP Photo/Annie Mulligan)

Robert Roberson is led to a locked visitation cell for an interview with The Associated Press at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit prison in Livingston, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Annie Mulligan)

Robert Roberson speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit prison in Livingston, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Annie Mulligan)

The Allan B. Polunsky Unit prison in Livingston, Texas, is seen on Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Annie Mulligan)

Robert Roberson speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit prison in Livingston, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Annie Mulligan)

Robert Roberson waits to be interviewed in a locked visitation cell at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit prison in Livingston, Texas, Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2025. Roberson, who has maintained his innocence on death row for more than 20 years, is scheduled to be executed on Oct. 16, for the 2002 killing of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis. (AP Photo/Annie Mulligan)

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The International Monetary Fund on Tuesday approved the release of $1.2 billion to Pakistan, giving the cash-strapped country a fresh boost as it works to recover from one of its worst economic crises in years.

The IMF in a statement said its executive board completed two reviews of Pakistan’s economic programs, clearing about $1 billion under its main loan facility and another $200 million from a separate climate-focused program.

With the latest approval, Pakistan has received about $3.3 billion from the IMF since last year. Under the bailout, Islamabad will receive loan installments over 37 months if it meets the agreed conditions.

Pakistan, for decades, has relied on loans from the IMF and friendly nations to meet its financing needs.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomed the decision, calling it recognition of the government’s reform drive and the “effective implementation” of IMF-endorsed measures. He said the latest IMF decision shows Pakistan is taking the steps needed to stabilize and grow its economy after narrowly avoiding default last year.

In a statement, Sharif also praised Field Marshal Gen. Asim Munir, the country’s powerful army chief and chief of defense forces, for playing a key role in supporting the reform agenda.

He also praised Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and his team for their “tireless work” in pushing through difficult changes. Sharif said Pakistan’s reform and digitalization efforts have now become a global “case study,” but cautioned that shifting from stability to sustained growth will demand further effort.

In a statement, the IMF said Pakistan has made “significant progress” in stabilizing the economy despite a tough global environment and this year’s devastating floods. It noted a stronger fiscal position, higher foreign exchange reserves — now at $14.5 billion — and an uptick in growth. Inflation has risen in recent months because floods triggered by above-normal monsoon rains pushed up food prices, but the fund expects that to ease.

The bailout, approved in 2024, aims to rebuild Pakistan’s reserves, strengthen its tax system and reform loss-making state-owned companies, especially in the energy sector. The climate facility, approved earlier this year, supports efforts to improve disaster management, water use and climate-related financial reporting.

Nigel Clarke, the IMF’s deputy managing director, said Pakistan must stay disciplined as it faces an uncertain outlook. He praised the government’s commitment to meeting next year’s budget targets while responding to flood damage, and urged Islamabad to keep monetary policy tight, allow the exchange rate to move freely and push ahead with long-delayed energy reforms.

Vendors warm themselves around a fire on a cold morning in Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)