On the imminent execution of Robert Roberson, an innocent man in Texas

As the Socialist Equality Party’s candidate for president, I denounce in the strongest terms the imminent execution of Robert Roberson by the state of Texas, set to take place today at 6:00 p.m.

Roberson, convicted in 2003 of killing his two-year-old daughter based on the now discredited “shaken baby syndrome” (SBS), is yet another victim of the barbaric American criminal “justice” system. His case, like so many others, is a grotesque example of state-sanctioned murder.

Roberson has always maintained his innocence. Medical evidence discovered after his conviction has shown that his daughter Nikki’s death was caused by undiagnosed pneumonia and sepsis, exacerbated by inappropriate medications—not by violent shaking. Despite this new evidence, the courts have denied Roberson a new trial at every turn. Now, Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles are pushing forward with his execution, knowing full well that an innocent man would be put to death.

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This act of state murder comes just weeks after the execution of Marcellus “Khaliifah” Williams in Missouri, another innocent man who was killed by lethal injection on September 24, 2024. Williams spent nearly a quarter-century on death row for a murder he did not commit. There was no forensic evidence linking him to the crime, and DNA tests proved his innocence. Yet, the Missouri Supreme Court and Governor Mike Parson ignored the overwhelming evidence in Williams’ favor and proceeded with his execution.

The cases of Robert Roberson and Marcellus Williams are not anomalies. Innocent men and women, disproportionately poor and working class, are railroaded to death row based on faulty evidence, inadequate legal representation, and a complete disregard for due process. The death penalty is applied in a fundamentally arbitrary manner, targeting those who lack the resources to defend themselves.

In the case of Roberson, the state of Texas is determined to carry out the execution even as medical science has thoroughly discredited the SBS diagnosis used to convict him. In Williams’ case, it was contaminated DNA evidence that sealed his fate. The failure to halt these executions, even in the face of new evidence, reveals the ruthlessness of the state and its determination to maintain the machinery of death.

The death penalty is a barbaric institution that serves as an instrument of terror wielded by the state. It is the domestic expression of the same ruling class that oversees imperialist wars and genocidal violence abroad, including the ongoing slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza.

What we are witnessing is a descent into criminality by the ruling elite itself. The state’s power to kill without regard for innocence is emblematic of the broader violence of American capitalism, a system that destroys lives at home and abroad. The execution of Robert Roberson will be yet another bloodstain on a system that is utterly incapable of reforming itself.

I call for an immediate halt to the execution of Robert Roberson. If this execution proceeds, it will be nothing short of premeditated murder by the state of Texas.

Moreover, the Socialist Equality Party and our campaign call for the abolition of the death penalty in all its forms. No society that claims to value human life can justify the continued use of such a barbaric punishment. The fight against the death penalty must be part of a broader struggle against the capitalist system that breeds inequality and state violence.

The executions of Robert Roberson and Marcellus Williams expose the true nature of the American political system. It is a system built on violence, repression, and the denial of basic democratic rights. The fight to abolish the death penalty is inseparable from the fight against capitalism and for a socialist future.