He Didn’t Kill His Child, But He’s About to Be Executed Anyway | NYT Opinion
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Published 2024-07-30
That’s the burden the Rev. Brian Wharton has been carrying for more than two decades. He played a crucial role in the prosecution of Robert Roberson, who was found guilty in 2003 of killing his 2-year-old daughter and sentenced to death.
But as the Opinion video above explores, Wharton came to regret his involvement and the outcome of the case. He recently visited Texas death row, along with a crew from Opinion Video, and met with Roberson. It was the first time the men had spoken with each other since before Roberson’s conviction.
The film is the first in a three-part series that we’re publishing over the next few weeks, each taking a critical view of the death penalty by exposing flaws in cases and questioning whether retributive justice can truly provide closure. The videos are in keeping with The Times’s longstanding position that the punishment is full of bias and error, morally abhorrent and futile in deterring crime and should be abolished.
The series lands at a hopeful but still-challenging time in the movement to get rid of capital punishment in the United States.
The death penalty has been falling out of favor with officials and the broader public alike over the past three decades, in part owing to what the Death Penalty Information Center called “society’s greater understanding about the fallibility of our legal system and its inability to protect innocent people from execution.” Twenty-nine states have now either abolished the death penalty or have paused executions by executive action, up from 12 in 1999.
Last year, for the first time, a Gallup poll found that more Americans said the death penalty is administered unfairly (50 percent) than fairly (47 percent). And the percentage of people who support the death penalty has fallen steadily since the mid-1990s, according to Gallup, dropping to 53 percent this year, the lowest since 1972.
But other recent data urgently underscores how much hard work remains for abolitionists. The downward trend in the number of executions that prevailed for two decades — there were 11 in 2021, way down from the peak of 98 in 1999 — has recently reversed. There were 18 executions in 2022 and 24 last year, a worrisome uptick driven in part by governors and prosecutors seeking to burnish their crime-fighting bona fides.
And there are still about 2,400 prisoners sitting on death row around the United States, awaiting their execution. One of them is Robert Roberson. But in the video above, Wharton argues that the deeply flawed case against Roberson is a clear example of why the death penalty should be eliminated.
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All Comments (21)
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"We, as human beings, are incapable of producing the kind of fairness and justice to take someone's life." Such an epic statement of truth that no one could refute.
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There's a guy in Missouri on death row whose execution is pending. The PROSECUTING attorney is trying to have him exonerated based on new evidence. The state has not postponed the execution date. It's appalling. The death penalty needs to be abolished
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This is heartbreaking, imagine his pain losing his daughter, and then being jailed for the next 20 years with the agony of a death sentence.
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As a person with autism too, as soon as the man mentioned Robert seeming expressionless, emotionless, and not acting according to how he "should be," I knew immediately what this video was going to be about. And I was, sadly, correct.
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I just read into this case and it is horrific. His daughter was 2 and was incredibly sick for a week before her death. The doctotrs game her codeine and phenegren which you very obviously do not give to 2 year olds. She had penumonia that the doctors missed and the codeine depressed her CNS and breathing. He also had autism and they thought he was just "uncaring". Our justice system is broken in so many ways. I do not trust anyones judgement enough to believe they can find someone else should be put to death.
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If the prosecutor is basically saying they made a huge mistake, they should re-investigate. If there's any doubt, this man should deserve a new trial! The jury in this case made a huge mistake!! They should be held accountable!
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If we aren't 100% sure on 100% of cases, capital punishment should be abolished.
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so just take him out of fkin prison wtf is the issue here?
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You did NOT go by the book... by discarding any other cause of death... by ignoring the medical history of the kid... by seeking the death penalty in a case so shakey.
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I’m not a law student but how does the child’s health issues not enter as evidence
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2 decades waiting for death...that's absolutely disgusting
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Shame on this man for not investigating properly but judging the father for his response to his kids emergency. And now he asked for forgiveness to the man he sent to jail 20 years ago! Shame on him and the system!
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This is such a horrific situation. This man needs to be set free for god's sake.
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“we made them both up, sanctity of life and the death penalty. aren’t we versatile?” - carlin. it’s not about the preservation of life, it’s about control.
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I'm an Aussie & I just came across this story. I'm not a religious man but I'm praying that he gets a new trial & that real justice is done. Stay strong brother 🙏
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Imagine the officer that put you in prison is the one sounding the alarm and youre STILL stuck on Death Row?
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Terrible. With less known about mental disorders, this must have happened far more. Happy to see this sheriff admit failures in the system and shine a light on the case. Hope rational heads prevail.
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This is an awefull mistake, but I respect that this man admits it.
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The guilt must weigh heavy, such a sad case.
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I have heard of him through the innocence project. An awful mistake, but the prosecutors themselves, with the exception of the lead detective, still push against an innocent man being freed.
