Death row inmate Robert Roberson claims judicial misconduct in bid for new trial

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Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson is seeking another stay of execution and a new trial after claiming the Anderson County Judiciary acted unconstitutionally multiple times in his case, citing new evidence brought to Roberson’s legal team in June.

Roberson was convicted in 2003 of killing his chronically ill 2-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, by violently shaking her before taking her to a hospital. A 125-page petition filed Wednesday in the 3rd District Court in Anderson County claims Nikki was taken off life support at the direction of her grandparents — despite Roberson being her sole conservator — only after representatives with the Anderson County Judiciary falsely told hospital staff the couple was Nikki’s legal conservators. Roberson was arrested for capital murder after Nikki died.

The filing also suggests that then 3rd District Court Judge Jerry Calhoon was improperly involved in the case and signed off on an order to provide Roberson’s legal counsel despite his son, Mark Calhoon, being a prosecutor in Roberson’s trial. The former judge did not preside over the trial.

Jerry Calhoon also presided over Roberson’s custody battle for Nikki with her grandparents, Larry and Verna Bowman, and revoked his custody after he was arrested. Mark Calhoon took over as 3rd District Court judge in 2007.

The petition states that the new evidence was only made available because state Rep. Lacey Hull, R-Houston, learned of the Anderson County Judiciary’s involvement in allowing Nikki’s grandparents to remove her from life support. Hull provided an affidavit that was included in the filing.

Hull met with representatives from Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, where Nikki was taken off life support, during the legislative session to discuss a bill in February. During the meeting, she pointed out Roberson’s legal custody, according to her affidavit. Hull said the representatives seemed unaware of Roberson’s sole conservator rights until that meeting.

“My perception was that CMCD became aware for the first time during this meeting with me in 2025 that hospital staff had been misinformed by [Anderson] County about who had authority to withdraw life-sustaining treatment from Mr. Roberson's daughter Nikki when that action was taken,” Hull said in the affidavit.

After Attorney General Ken Paxton requested an execution date for Roberson, who is scheduled to be put to death on Oct. 16, Hull reached out to Roberson’s attorney and informed her of her discussion with the hospital representatives.

Hull was part of a bipartisan group of lawmakers who called for Roberson’s clemency in 2024 before he was scheduled to be executed. His case became a flashpoint in the Legislature as lawmakers successfully managed to stall his execution by subpoenaing him for a committee hearing in October.

At the center of public discussion on Roberson’s conviction is shaken baby syndrome, which Nikki was diagnosed with and what Roberson’s attorneys say prosecutors hinged his conviction on. Shaken baby syndrome has since become a contested diagnosis, as some research has suggested the symptoms used to identify the syndrome can also be caused by other factors, like short falls.

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