USA: Texas Court of Appeals suspends execution of death row inmat

Washington (USA), 9 October (LaPresse) – A few days before his execution, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has referred the case of death row inmate Robert Robertson back to the trial court. Robertson, who maintains his innocence, was sentenced to death for the murder of his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis. According to CNN, the court’s order granted Roberson’s request for review, invoking a Court of Appeals decision that overturned a similar conviction based on a charge of shaken baby syndrome (SBS). Robertson’s supporters say that changes in the understanding of the causes of the symptoms Nikki exhibited shortly before her death, along with growing new evidence, prove his innocence or at least justify a new trial.