Texas death row inmate Randy Halprin, who was once part of the "Texas 7" gang of escaped prisoners, is being granted a new trial by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Halprin, who is Jewish, won a reprieve from the death penalty in 2019 after claiming his trial judge, Judge Vickers Cunningham of Dallas, was anti-Semitic and used racial slurs. Wednesday, the court delivered an opinion that granted the new trial based on the violation of due process where there was "such a high degree of antagonism as to make fair judgment impossible."
"Specifically, we find that Halprin has shown by the preponderance of the evidence that his trial judge was actually biased against him at the time of the trial because Halprin is Jewish," the court wrote in the opinion.
Halprin was serving a 30-year sentence for beating an infant when, in December 2000, he and six other men escaped the Connally Unit, a Texas prison located about 60 miles southeast of San Antonio. The men ended up in Irving, where, on Christmas Eve, they robbed an Oshman's sporting goods store. Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins, 29, had just finished dinner with his wife, son, mother, and grandmother at a nearby restaurant when he got the call to investigate a "suspicious circumstance" at the store. Hawkins was driving toward the store's back dock when he was met with gunfire as the seven men exited the building. After being shot 11 times, Hawkins was pulled out of his patrol car and run over as the men fled, triggering a national manhunt.
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Halprin, who has maintained he never fired a weapon at the officer, was convicted and sentenced to death in 2003 under Texas’ law of parties, which holds a person criminally responsible for the actions of another if they are engaged in a conspiracy. Trial evidence showed the escapees stole guns and ammunition from the store.
The Appeals Court said while outside of the courtroom, Halprin's judge referred to him as "the Jew," "Randy the Jew," and "the Jew Halprin" and that the statements were not known to the defense during the trial and were not made public until after the conviction.
“Today, the Court of Criminal Appeals took a step towards broader trust in the criminal law by throwing out a hopelessly tainted death judgment handed down by a bigoted and biased judge," said Tivon Schardl, Halprin's attorney. "As the Criminal District Attorney for Tarrant County conceded over two years ago, and the court concluded today, the Constitution required this result. By upholding the Constitution’s requirement of fair and equal treatment, the Court of Criminal Appeals promoted faith in the criminal law. It also reminded Texans that religious bigotry has no place in our courts."
Schardl said that since Halprin returned to state prison, he "has shown over his two decades on death row that he is a man of peace with a deep connection to God. He is a member of the faith-based program on death row, where he continues his spiritual and moral growth and supports his Christian, Muslim, and Buddhist brothers on their journeys."
Halprin is expected to be transferred to North Texas for his new trial in the 283rd Judicial District Court in Dallas County. A date has not yet been set.
RANDY HALPRIN
Cunningham stepped down from the bench in 2005 to unsuccessfully run for Dallas County District Attorney. In a May 2018 interview with The Dallas Morning News, during an unsuccessful campaign for a seat on the Dallas County Commissioners Court, Cunningham said his children must marry white, Christian spouses to receive their inheritance. According to a 2022 report from the Associated Press, Cunningham was an attorney in private practice in Dallas.
In the opinion Wednesday, the court dismissed another claim from Halprin challenging the state's "future dangerousness" standard, where a jury must consider if a defendant is likely to commit future violent acts that would threaten society.
Of the seven inmates who escaped, one killed himself before the group was arrested. Four have been executed, while Halprin and another, Patrick Murphy, await execution. Murphy's execution was also halted after he argued his religious freedom was being violated because his Buddhist spiritual adviser wasn’t allowed to accompany him into the death chamber.
