Moment former detective confronts convicted child killer he put on death row two decades ago as case takes shocking twist

A erstwhile detective has apologized to a man he helped convict and put connected decease statement for sidesplitting his two-year-old daughter.

Robert Roberson III, 57, was sentenced to decease aft he was recovered blameworthy of shaking his girl Nikki Curtis to death at his location successful Palestine, East Texas, successful 2003.

He is presently successful a ineligible conflict to overturn his condemnation - claiming a debunked aesculapian presumption and his undiagnosed autism put him down bars.

Amid Roberson's conflict for his life, erstwhile cop Rev. Brian Wharton met up pinch him successful a Texas situation successful a harrowing confrontation filmed by The New York Times.

'Let maine conscionable say, I americium truthful sorry that you're here and truthful sorry that you're still here,' Wharton told Roberson. 'It's our failure.'

Wharton, who was nan main detective successful Palestine astatine nan time, has travel to regret his domiciled successful Roberson's conviction and is moving to thief overturn it and prevention his life.

'He's ne'er been acold from my mind. Why?  Because I helped put him here, and he didn't merit it,' Roberson told nan NYT.

Wharton recalled reasoning that Roberson's demeanor seemed unusual erstwhile he brought Nikki to nan hospital, claiming she was unconscious aft falling from nan bed.

That's erstwhile infirmary unit started discussing shaken babe syndrome and Roberson was arrested, tried and convicted.

'I've ne'er been capable to hide Robert Roberson. This lawsuit has been a load connected my bosom and spirit

'Let maine conscionable opportunity that you person ne'er been acold from me, and I'm convinced that we did nan incorrect thing

Roberson replied: 'I deliberation if it would person been decently investigated more, we wouldn't beryllium sitting present now, probably

It was bad capable losing her, right? I would do thing now to bring her back

Wharton admits that nary different causes of decease were considered for Nikki, and that constabulary 'followed nan easiest path.' 

He later learned that Roberson has autism which could person explained his deficiency of emotion complete Nikki's decease - but ne'er came retired during trial.

Nikki was besides a 'very sick child,' according to Wharton, who now thinks immoderate of those aesculapian issues could person explained her death.

Most importantly for Roberson's defense,  shaken babe syndrome has been discredited by galore successful nan aesculapian community. 

Prosecutors - and nan assemblage - astatine nan clip wished she had died not from a autumn but from being shaken to decease by her father. 

But successful nan years since, doctors person stepped distant from assigning shaken babe syndrome (SBS) arsenic a origin of death.

The intelligence who projected it himself moreover admitted that it was being utilized to 'put guiltless group successful prison', informing successful 2012 'we person gone severely disconnected nan rails.'

Roberson was fixed custody of Nikki by her maternal grandparents aft her mother, who has remained unnamed was denied custody successful nan infirmary aft her birth.

In nan week anterior her death, Nikki had been sick and appeared astatine a section emergency room wherever she was prescribed Phenergan and sent home.

After her information didn't improve, doctors again prescribed her much Phenergan and codeine, an opioid now restricted from children nether nan property of 18.

Phenergan now comes pinch a informing against being prescribed to children of Nikki's age.

The pursuing nighttime she had gone to slumber beside her father, who woke up to find her unconscious.

Roberson was a parolee astatine nan clip of his daughter's decease pinch erstwhile convictions for burglary and theft and parole violations.

Multiple women testified that they'd seen Roberson shingle and 'spank' Nikki erstwhile she cried.

Among them were his woman astatine nan time, her daughter, and her niece. All of them claimed they had seen Roberson lash retired astatine his daughter.

Teddie Cox, his past girlfriend, testified that Roberson had a bad temper and would often shingle and spank Nikki erstwhile she wouldn't extremity crying.

Cox's niece Courtney Berryhill besides told nan proceedings that erstwhile she spent nan nighttime astatine nan location she witnessed Roberson shingle Nikki by nan arms to extremity her crying.

While Cox's girl Rachel testified that she had witnessed him spank and shingle Nikki, and besides recalled a clip he threatened to termination his daughter.

Prosecutors initially said Roberson sexually assaulted Nikki, based connected statements from a nurse, but dropped that constituent precocious successful nan proceedings erstwhile grounds could not conclusively support it.