Randy Halprin’s Dallas County capital murder conviction and death sentence for the shooting of an Irving police officer should be overturned, according to prosecutors, a trial court judge, and his attorneys. Halprin escaped from the Texas Seven jail and is one of them.
Prosecutors
Prosecutors contend that the state district judge who suggested the new trial overstepped his or her bounds, partly based his or her conclusions on hearsay or superfluous evidence, and lacked legal precedence.
Tarrant County prosecutors said in court documents submitted on Wednesday that state District Judge Lela Mays ignored Halprin’s arguments when she suggested Halprin’s conviction and sentence be overturned because the original judge in the case, Vickers Cunningham, had antisemitic beliefs. According to the legal brief, the prosecution agreed that Halprin should be allowed to appeal, but only on “narrower and legally valid reason.”
Instead of following Mays’ advice, which they claimed was “unsupported by the record or legal precedent,” prosecutors sought the state’s Court of Criminal Appeals to make its own decisions based on the facts presented by the prosecution.
Mays and Tivon Schardl, one of Halprin’s attorneys, could not be reached right away for comment. The former state district judge Cunningham, who once ran as the GOP candidate for Dallas County district attorney but lost, chose not to comment.
When Hawkins was killed 22 years ago, his family, including his son who was 9 at the time, had just completed eating dinner at Olive Garden. He was shot 11 times before the escapees ran him over as he departed to investigate a complaint about suspicious behavior at a nearby Oshman’s SuperSports USA. The escapees were ultimately located in Colorado about a month after a massive manhunt across the country was launched in their direction.
With the exception of Larry Harper, who committed suicide in order to elude arrest, all members of the Texas Seven were subsequently found guilty and given death sentences. Four were put to death. Halprin continues to be on death row with Patrick Murphy.
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals blocked Halprin’s execution in 2019 when Cunningham’s brother claimed to The Dallas Morning News that Cunningham had been a longtime racist. Halprin’s case as well as that of the other four Texas Seven escapees were ruled over by Cunningham.
The judge at the time insisted that he wasn’t a bigot but acknowledged that awards for marrying a white, Christian, or someone of the opposite sex are included in a trust fund set up for his children. Halprin’s execution was postponed so that the accusations could be looked at by Texas’s highest criminal court, the Court of Criminal Appeals and Mays were tasked with reviewing the case and recommending conclusions.
The supreme court will decide ultimately. The court’s decision is not subject to any deadline.
