There are many —like the small group of Dallas anti-death penalty activists I am honored to be part of— who believe Robert Roberson is innocent.

It likely won’t matter.

There are dozens of attorneys who have defended him up and down the legal system.

It likely won’t matter.

There is a police investigator who originally helped convict him, who now says he is innocent, and who have actively begged the system to intervene.

It likely won’t matter.



This last point is worth your meditation.


You don’t have to believe lawyers paid to defend him.
You might not want to believe a “liberal preacher” like me.

But you should definitely believe a former East Texas police officer who now is clear:

 Robert Roberson should not be executed by anyone, and most definitely not by the State of Texas at 6 pm tonight.


Here’s what that officer, Detective Brian Wharton, now says in a DMN story running today:



“We rushed to judgment…We were wrong, the jury was misinformed, and Robert is not guilty of any crime. If we are truly a nation of laws, a people who love justice in the most meaningful sense of that word, then Robert Roberson III must be set free.“

But…he likely won’t be.

And we can lament this all day, as if it’s some unfortunate glitch in the system. But a Disciple of Jesus Christ, my Savior to demands that we defend the vulnerable and the lost.


And, therefore, this is something far more than unfortunate.
This is a murder being committed in the name of every Texan.
It is a moral stain that —should what we expect to happen, happen tonight— covers every single living Texan

I am morally opposed to the death penalty based on the teachings of Jesus my Savior. Jesus told his own disciples to put away their swords, instead of shedding blood.



Jesus told us not to take an “eye for an eye.”
This means, not commiting a murder for a murder.

And maybe there are other cases where you think the death penalty is “justice.” If so, I am asking you to not look away, to look hard at this horror.



Time and again, Jesus cautioned against the use of violence, and also demanded we not “Otherize” human beings, but instead to greet our enemies with love. To pray for them, not kill them.

He was especially clear that we should defend the least, the lost, and the left out.

Certainly, the death of baby Nikki was horrific. But the shaken baby syndrome used as legal justification for Robert Roberson’s conviction has been discredited by science.

According to the Dallas Morning News:



“Just last week, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals vacated the conviction of a Dallas County man accused of injuring a child because scientific advancements undermined shaken baby syndrome. More than 30 people who served time in prison after convictions involving the theory have been declared innocent, according to the National Registry of Exonerations.”



More than thirty people exonerated…but not an autistic man, here in Texas.



Oh. Did I forget to mention that?

Yes, he’s also autistic.



Which gets me to the assertion that he is also among the vulnerable in our society. He also deserves our society’s protection, just as much as baby Nikki did.

And the fact that our system is making a binary choice between these two vulnerable populations —innocent babies, and autistic fathers— tells you everything about the very dark place we all are now.



But, then, we are already there on abortion, aren’t we?

In an effort to “save the babies” (again: an assertion based on dubious science and emotional manipulation of the public) we have now put innocent Mothers at risk of death. We are now hearing stories of women, horribly bleeding, and unable to get medical care in our state.

Before this, of course, our government (state and federal) have engaged in Otherizing Latino people…putting kids in cages and separating families.
And for the purpose of this essay, I am asking you to forego who you think is to “blame” for those border policies, or any of the mess at the border. Assigning blame is a part of the moral dodge we ALL do, to avoid our moral blame; ignoring how broken the whole system is.

If you believe one party deserves all blame, while the other is “perfect” in their border response, you are an absolute fool.

Our broken system is decades in the making.



My point today is: When we previously put kids in cages was also done, IN OUR NAME.

All. Of. Us.



Before that, there was a Muslim ban…simply banning all Muslims from specific countries, just because they are citizens of those countries.
That was also done in our name too.



And again, here’s where I know your mind is going. You are either calling back the specific reasons why you supported any or all of these policies, or you are rushing to Google to try and figure out how you can feel better about the fact that we’re about to kill Robert Roberson tonight.



Don’t bother.
That is all entirely beside my point today.



My point today is about moral stain.
Moral stain and harm, not just to Robert Roberson, because we are about to murder him, but to ALL OF US.

Like fighting unjust wars, like using the law against women, like using the law against all Latinos people…as a Christian preacher, I must assure that this is also a moral harm to US….to our souls, to our bodies, to our families.


Statistically, you are probably one of those Texans who faithfully believe, “Yes…but the system will protect us so that we don’t execute the innocent.”



Nope.


That will be proven wrong tonight, in this case…an horrific case which, once again, shows how our laws are being weaponized against the vulnerable, instead of protecting them.



Again, let’s end with East Texas native, Detective Wharton; who —should Roberson be executed this evening at 6 pm, as expected— has said he will be “forever haunted.”



You should be too.
But, statistically, given the public’s view of the death penalty, you probably won’t be.



And that is what is most morally wrong about all of this.