CW: This post contains references to murder, child illness and death.
Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends. –J.R.R Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
On Oct. 17, less than two hours before he was set to die, the Supreme Court of Texas granted a temporary stay of execution in the case of Robert Roberson.
Roberson was found guilty of killing his two-year-old daughter, Nikki, in 2003. The year before, Roberson brought an unresponsive Nikki to the hospital, stating that she’d fallen from bed earlier that day. Medical personnel didn’t buy it. From the start, they believed the toddler a victim of “shaken baby syndrome,” (SBS) and this theory was bolstered by the fact that investigators perceived Roberson as emotionless during the ordeal. Nikki, however, had been chronically ill since she was born. In the days leading up to her death, she experienced multiple symptoms, for which Roberson took her to the ER as well as to a pediatrician. In both cases, doctors prescribed Nikki medication and sent her home.
Sadly, Nikki could not be saved. She was pronounced dead the day after her final hospital visit. Police arrested Roberson for murder and, the following February, he was found guilty.
Roberson was convicted based on flawed evidence. For one thing, Roberson is autistic, which explains why hospital staff and investigators might have misunderstood his emotional response (or lack thereof). Further, shaken baby syndrome is a hotly debated hypothesis. In 2011, pediatric neurosurgeon Norman Guthkelch—who is credited with discovered SBS—spoke out against how the diagnosis is used in court.
The issue is not whether violent shaking can harm babies: Even doctors who dispute the diagnosis say shaking can damage an infant’s fragile neck, torso or spine. But the doctors say that shaking has not been shown to produce the conditions often attributed to Shaken Baby Syndrome — namely, bleeding on the surface of the brain, bleeding in the back of the eyes and brain swelling. –The Washington Post
Today, even the man who worked as lead detective in the Roberson case believes Nikki died of “natural and accidental” causes. Roberson’s life still hangs in the balance, and even so, he’s one of the luckier ones.
Marcellus Williams was killed by lethal injection in Missouri on Sept. 24. This was his punishment for the murder of Felicia Gayle, although new DNA evidence called his conviction into question. Gayle’s family even opposed the execution.
If not the victims, who does the death penalty even serve? We can tell ourselves it deters criminals or, at the least, prevents killers from killing again. These arguments don’t convince me capital punishment is necessary.
The vast majority of people exonerated from death row are Black or Latinx, and more than half of death row exonerees are Black. Studies consistently demonstrate that the race of the accused and/or race of the victim plays an arbitrary yet determinative role in the administration of the death penalty. –The Innocence Project
Despite my personal feelings, I understand why people support the death penalty. Hot, ugly rage swirls in my chest when I think of how Joseph James DeAngelo (a.k.a EARONS) lives on after so many suffered and died at his hands. Josef Fritzl, who imprisoned and abused his own daughter for 24 years, may apply for release in 2025. (I’ll admit I hope he’s dead by then.) Canadian killer Karla Homolka is free, probably hanging out somewhere in Quebec. It’s difficult to reconcile my hatred of these people with my values. Some people do deserve to die, I suppose, and hypocrisy isn’t a crime. Even so, I don’t believe the death penalty leads to justice. At best, it’s revenge. The desire for revenge is human, and at times, completely understandable. We want people to experience a fraction of the fear and pain they’ve inflicted on the world. But this desire should not rule the American justice system, or any other.
Because, at worst? The death penalty takes innocent lives.
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