Will East Texas Man Be The First Executed For This Cause Of Death

A Texas man is facing execution in a couple of days after being convicted of the death of his child in 2002.

Robert, Robertson III, from the town of Palestine in East Texas, could be the first person executed over shaken baby syndrome -- now known as abusive head trauma. Currently, his execution is scheduled for Thursday, October 17.

For the 20 years he has been on death row, Robertson has continued to insist he is innocent of the death of his 2-year-old daughter Nikki, according to KETK. 

As his execution date approaches, Robertsons' defense team continues to fight

Robertsons' lawyer along with others have claimed his conviction was faulty, based on both new scientific evidence and evidence that Nikki may have died from pneumonia complications, according to CBS News. However, prosecutors argue that these claims don't discredit that Nikki died due to her father.

With his execution date fast approaching, much talk of shaken baby syndrome has been brought to the forefront. Many are divided on the validity of the diagnosis while others stand by it.

If you don't know what shaken baby syndrome is, the Mayo Clinic defines it as, "a serious brain injury resulting from forcefully shaking an infant or toddler."

Once damage is inflicted this way, it can lead to permanent brain damage and even death. It sounds pretty straightforward. However, CBS News says the debate surrounding Shaken Baby Syndrom is that other issues can also appear to be a head injury -- including pneumonia in some cases. Leading to, you guessed it, potentially false diagnoses.

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So what will happen in this case with shaken baby syndrome being brought into question?

As of now, Robertson is still facing execution on Thursday, despite many appeals by his defense related to potential evidence that his daughter didn't die of shaken baby syndrome but of pneumonia or another disease as stated above.

Robertsons' defence teams last appeal was denied recently on Friday, according to CBS News.

While his execution date is close, efforts are still being made to get Robertson a 30-day stay of execution, KETK reported. This is in hopes of having that time to make their case heard by the public.

Of course, I would still need to look into this case more to form a better opinion, but if there is doubt about a conviction, I'm not for putting someone to death. This should ONLY be a sentence carried out if there is 100% certainty, yet it seems potentially innocent people are executed -- or die in prison --  more than we realize.

What do you think about this East Texas man's case?