The state’s highest criminal appeals court has vacated the conviction of a Dallas County man accused of injuring a child, arguing scientific advancements undermine the scrutinized “shaken baby syndrome” theory used to prosecute him.
Andrew Wayne Roark, 47, was sentenced to 35 years in prison for injury to a child. His 2000 trial centered on medical evidence prosecutors said proved the 1-year-old child was violently shaken, causing permanent brain damage.
The novel, 57-page opinion is the first time the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has evaluated the totality of the shaken baby syndrome hypothesis, Roark’s appellate lawyer Gary Udashen said. The ruling published Wednesday could have sweeping effects on similar cases.
“There’s been an entire evolution and change in scientific understanding around these infant head injury cases,” Udashen said. “The entire theory under which they prosecuted Andrew — and a lot of other cases around the country — has over the last 20 years been proven to be scientifically and medically invalid.”
Roark has been out of prison on bond for more than a decade, according to court records. The case now heads back to Dallas County, where Roark could be retried or prosecutors could dismiss the charge.
A spokeswoman for the Dallas County district attorney’s office declined to comment.
The appeals court wrote in its landmark 6-3 ruling that Roark was found guilty based on refutable science and circumstantial evidence. The justices said that if “newly evolved scientific evidence” were presented at Roark’s trial, he would not have been convicted. The justices cited the 2013 “Junk Science Writ” which allows people to challenge convictions by showing changes in science — like DNA, fingerprints and bitemark analysis — undercuts the integrity of their trial.
Courts nationwide have rejected the science or overturned shaken baby syndrome convictions in recent years. More than 30 people who served time in prison after convictions involving shaken baby syndrome have later been declared innocent, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.
The decision in Roark’s case comes about a week before Texas is scheduled to execute Robert Roberson, who is accused of shaking his 2-year-old daughter to death. If he’s put to death, Roberson will become the first person in the country to be executed for shaken baby syndrome.
Roberson’s attorney, Gretchen Sween, said in a statement that the same child abuse specialist testified at Roark and Roberson’s trials. Sween said Roberson also “should, quite logically, be awarded a new trial.”
Lawyers, lawmakers and advocates have urged the state to pause the Oct. 17 execution by lethal injection. A judge in East Texas will hear arguments Tuesday over whether to cancel the execution.