Criminal Justice

C.J. Ciaramella | 10.11.2024 3:05 PM

As the state of Texas prepares for the first execution in the country based on evidence of what used to be called "shaken baby syndrome," a state appeals court has overturned a conviction in a separate, similar case.

The Texas Criminal Court of Appeals ruled on Wednesday that Andrew Roark, a Dallas man who was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2000 in a shaken baby case, deserves a new trial because it's unlikely that a jury would convict him today if they heard current scientific testimony. Two of the state's expert witnesses at Roark's trial later recanted portions of their testimony about the unlikelihood of accidental or natural causes for the symptoms they observed.

"We find that scientific knowledge has evolved regarding SBS and its application in [Roark's] case," the court wrote. "Additionally, we find that given further study, the experts would have given a different opinion on several issues at a trial today—some already have. The admissible scientific testimony at trial today would likely yield an acquittal."

There is likely no one else in the country as interested in the case, besides Roark, than Robert Roberson, a Texas death row inmate scheduled to be executed on October 17. Roberson would be the first person in the U.S. to be executed based on evidence of........

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