Texas Seven's Randy Halprin has execution stayed after attorneys allege judge was anti-Semite

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday stayed the upcoming execution of Randy Halprin, one of the two surviving Texas Seven members on death row.

The 42-year-old Halprin, one of seven prisoners who escaped from the John B. Connally Unit on Dec. 13, 2000, was scheduled to die Thursday for his role in the slaying of Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins 11 days later. But his attorneys, with the support of 100 Jewish attorneys from Dallas and throughout the state, argued in recent weeks that Halprin, who was raised Jewish in Arlington's Congregation Beth Shalom, was sentenced to death by a bigoted judge whose "anti-Semitic views of Mr. Halprin created an unconstitutional risk of bias."

That judge was Vickers "Vic" Cunningham, who is alleged to have called Halprin "that [expletive] Jew" and much worse during the trial.

Cunningham denied the allegations made by Halprin's attorneys, telling The Dallas Morning News in June that his alleged anti-Semitic comments are "fabrications" and "the same lies from my estranged brother and his friends."

But the court took the allegations seriously enough to remand the case back to a Dallas County court for further review.

When reached at his Gaston Avenue law office Friday afternoon, Cunningham said he had "been informed" of the court's ruling.

"I cannot comment at this time," he said. "Would love to. But I cannot comment."

The Hawkins family, through Aubrey's widow, Lori, declined comment.

When reached by phone, Halprin's public defender, Tivon Schardl, said only that he and his client were "very grateful the Court of Criminal Appeals made it clear bigotry won't stand in Texas criminal courts."

He then referred The News to a longer statement issued Friday afternoon, which notes the support his appeal received from 100 Jewish attorneys and other faith leaders — including famed anti-death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean — last month.

"A fair trial requires an impartial judge — and Mr. Halprin did not have a fair and neutral judge when his life was at stake," said the statement. "We are very grateful the CCA has given Mr. Halprin the opportunity to seek a new trial, free of religious discrimination."

Cunningham's run for Dallas County commissioner last year was derailed after The Dallas Morning News reported Cunningham had set up a living trust for his children from which they would reap the benefits only if they married a white Christian of the opposite sex. His brother Bill Cunningham, from whom the former state district judge is estranged, is married to a black man.

After those stories ran in May 2018, Halprin's attorneys wondered whether Cunningham's alleged bigotry was a factor in their client's trial and eventual sentencing. And in court filings from June, Halprin's attorneys cited two people who said they knew Cunningham — and his racist views — quite well.

One was Tammy McKinney, a longtime friend of Cunningham's, who is quoted in court filings as saying Cunningham "did not like anyone not of his race, religion or creed, and he was very vocal about his disapproval." In an affidavit, McKinney also said Cunningham once said that "Jews needed to be shut down because they controlled all the money."

Halprin's attorneys said further confirmation came from Amanda Tackett, a one-time D magazine contributor who worked for Cunningham's 2005 campaign for Dallas County district attorney. She says in court filings that Cunningham called Halprin "the Jew" at campaign events.

"Before, during, and after Randy Halprin's trial, Judge Cunningham harbored deep-seated animus towards and prejudices about non-white, non-Christian people," Halprin's attorneys Schardl, Timothy Gumkowski and Paul Mansur wrote in June. "He expressed these views frequently in private and they informed his thinking about his public service in the law."

Before his escape from prison in 2000, Halprin was serving 30 years for beating a child in Tarrant County. He has never denied he was at the Oshman's Sporting Goods store, at State Highway 183 and Belt Line Road, on Christmas Eve 2000, when Hawkins was shot 11 times and then run over. But he has denied being one of the men who pulled the trigger that night.

Nevertheless, he was convicted of capital murder on June 12, 2003, and sentenced to die for his role in Hawkins' slaying. The other members of the Texas Seven received the same sentence — except for Larry Harper, who killed himself before the escapees were recaptured in Colorado.

Only Halprin and Patrick Murphy remain on death row. And Murphy is due to be executed next month.

Two years after Halprin's trial in Cunningham's court, the Court of Criminal upheld his conviction and death sentence upon appeal. As the court noted in its order Friday, a handful of evidentiary hearings were held over the next several years. But on March 20, 2013, the Court of Criminal Appeals denied Halprin his request for a new trial.

That order stood until Friday.

"It's absolutely the best new year's present ever," said Dallas attorney Marc Stanley, who co-wrote and signed his name at the bottom of the amicus brief supported by 99 other colleagues. Stanley noted that the order came just days after Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, and only days before Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar — and one otherwise known as the Day of Atonement.

He reiterated something he said in September: His brief had nothing to do with Halprin's guilt or innocence. Rather, Stanley said, attorneys simply wanted to ensure Halprin received a fair trial presided over by an impartial judge.

"And I am so thrilled the rule of law won and the Court of Criminal Appeals sent it back to ascertain whether he got a fair trial in the first place," Stanley said. "Guilt or innocence can only be determined by a fair trial and a fair judge. What I do know is in our country, even a guilty person deserves a fair trial."

What happened to the Texas Seven?

Joseph Garcia — executed Dec. 4, 2018

Compiled by Tom Steele