At the time of Roberson’s trial, shaken baby syndrome — now referred to as abusive head trauma — was a common misdiagnosis.

In 2013 the Texas Legislature passed what is now called the junk science law, or statute 11.073. The law allows a person convicted of a crime to seek relief if the evidence used against them is no longer credible.

However, according to a report by the Texas Defender Service, “of the 25 applications filed by people sentenced to death, 64% were dismissed or denied. Applications from death-sentenced people constituted 34% of all applications filed. The deadly consequences of this pattern are clear: People may be executed following convictions that rest on faulty science, because they are unable to obtain relief under 11.073.” (tinyurl.com/4jyw36s3)

When an execution date was ordered this past summer, action went into high gear. A bi-partisan majority of the Texas House of Representatives urged the state to grant clemency. Famed writer and retired attorney John Grisham penned op-ed pieces in the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. Almost all Texas media was reporting on the case as were national press from the New York Times to CNN to Time Magazine.

A group of legislators spent several hours at the prison housing death row visiting Roberson and praying with him. Even the coach of the San Antonio Spurs basketball team urged Texans to contact the governor and ask for the execution to be stopped.

No one knows what will happen after Roberson testifies before the House Committee. Another execution date could be immediately set by either the Anderson County District Attorney or Attorney General Paxton, although it would have to be at least 90 days away. This would then necessitate a new round of appeals and hopefully some court or judge or body would find a way to listen to the facts of the case and either drop the charges or order a new trial.

When Roberson was asked what he wanted, he simply said he wanted to go home.