A Texas juror from Robert Roberson's 2003 capital murder trial revealed to lawmakers this week that new evidence would have changed her verdict. Terre Compton, who voted to convict Roberson, said before the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence that she now believes Roberson is innocent and would not have supported his conviction if she had been presented with the evidence his current attorneys have put forward.
Roberson, on death row for the alleged shaken baby syndrome death of his two-year-old daughter, was scheduled to testify before the legislative panel on Monday. However, a dispute between Attorney General Ken Paxton's office and lawmakers over whether he should appear in person or virtually led to the 57-year-old inmate's absence.
The hearing, which focused on new medical evidence and expert testimony, lasted over nine hours and featured prominent supporters, including "Dr. Phil" McGraw and author John Grisham, who argued for Roberson's innocence, the Texas Tribune reported.
Compton explained that the original trial heavily focused on the shaken baby diagnosis, but the jury was never shown medical records that could have supported a different cause of death, including viral pneumonia. "Everything that was presented to us was all about shaken baby syndrome. If we had been told otherwise, I would have found him not guilty," she said.
Since his conviction, many experts and lawmakers have challenged the validity of shaken baby syndrome as a diagnosis, with some arguing that Roberson's daughter died from natural causes exacerbated by medications. Roberson has consistently maintained his innocence for over 20 years, while prosecutors continue to argue that the evidence of abuse is compelling.
Despite his execution being halted by the Texas Supreme Court last week, it remains unclear whether Roberson will be granted a new trial. The committee's intervention has sparked a legal debate over the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches. Lawmakers are working to ensure Roberson's testimony is heard soon, with options including visiting him at the Polunsky Unit if a compromise on in-person testimony cannot be reached.
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