In a vote of 6-3 the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Halprin’s conviction this past week after finding that the presiding judge, Vickers Cunningham, demonstrated profound antisemitic prejudice.
A Jewish member of the notorious ‘Texas 7’ gang has been granted a new trial after evidence revealed the judge who condemned him to death harbored deep antisemitic prejudices.
Randy Halprin, 47, was one of seven inmates who orchestrated one of Texas’ most dramatic prison breaks in December 2000.
After breaking out, Halprin and company embarked on a series of robberies that culminated in the killing of Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins, 29, who was shot 11 times.
While five of his accomplices have either been executed or died by suicide, Halprin’s case has taken a dramatic turn due to revelations about the trial judge’s bias.
In a vote of 6-3 the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturned Halprin’s conviction this past week after finding that the presiding judge, Vickers Cunningham, demonstrated profound antisemitic prejudice.
‘The uncontradicted evidence supports a finding that Cunningham formed an opinion about Halprin that derived from an extrajudicial factor — Cunningham’s poisonous antisemitism,’ the appeals court wrote in its ruling.
Evidence also showed Cunningham had ‘repeated unsupported antisemitic narratives’ throughout his life and continued to use derogatory language about Jewish people with ‘great hatred and disgust’ during his tenure on the bench.
Questions about Cunningham’s prejudices first emerged publicly in 2018 when he told the Dallas Morning News about his family trust, which provided financial incentives for his children to marry straight, white Christians.
Despite admitting his previous opposition to interracial marriage, he claimed to have changed his views.
‘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.
While Halprin’s role in the Texas 7’s crimes remains undisputed, the court’s ruling ensures his right to a fair trial untainted by religious prejudice.
His co-defendant Patrick Murphy remains the only other living member of the Texas 7, currently awaiting execution.”