John Grisham: Texas May Kill an Innocent Man

Texas plans to execute an inmate named Robert Roberson on Thursday, and crime novelist John Grisham begins an op-ed in the Washington Post by asking everyone to say a prayer for him. The reason? "Roberson has spent the past 22 years on death row for a crime that perhaps never occurred, and now Texas is hellbent on executing him." Roberson, as previous coverage has laid out, was convicted of killing his 2-year-old daughter as a result of "shaken baby syndrome." Since his conviction, mountains of doubt have emerged about that diagnosis. The consensus of multiple experts is that the more likely cause of death was "viral pneumonia, not physical abuse," writes Grisham, a retired lawyer.

The very detective who investigated the case thinks Roberson should be freed, as do most state lawmakers in the Texas House. "The evidence is assembled and available to the Texas authorities, but no one with the power to stop Roberson's execution is paying attention," writes Grisham. At this point, only Gov. Greg Abbott, the Court of Criminal Appeals, or the Supreme Court can stop the execution. "Are we more willing to accept a potentially innocent man's execution than to revisit a case?" wonders Grisham. (Read his full op-ed.)