What to know about shaken baby syndrome as a Texas man could be first in US executed over it

Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas man this week could become the first person executed in the U.S. under a murder conviction tied to the diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome. Thursday’s scheduled execution of Robert Roberson for the 2002 killing of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, is renewing debate over the diagnosis. On one side of the debate are lawyers and some in the medical and scientific communities who argue the diagnosis is flawed and has led to wrongful convictions. On the other side are prosecutors and medical societies who say the diagnosis has been scientifically proven. Roberson has long proclaimed his innocence and his lawyers say new evidence shows his daughter died from an illness.