New trial ordered for Texas death row inmate due to judge's antisemitic bias

SAN ANTONIO — A Texas appeals tribunal ordered a caller proceedings Wednesday for a Jewish man connected decease statement — who was portion of a pack of prisoners that fatally changeable a constabulary serviceman successful 2000 aft escaping — because of antisemitic bias by nan judge who presided complete his case.

Lawyers for Randy Halprin person contended that erstwhile Judge Vickers Cunningham successful Dallas utilized group slurs and antisemitic connection to mention to him and immoderate of his co-defendants.

Halprin, 47, was among nan group of inmates known arsenic nan " Texas 7" who escaped from a South Texas situation successful December 2000 and past committed galore robberies, including nan 1 successful which they changeable 29-year-old Irving constabulary serviceman Aubrey Hawkins 11 times, sidesplitting him.

By a ballot of 6-3, nan Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ordered that Halprin's condemnation beryllium overturned and that he beryllium fixed a caller proceedings aft concluding that Cunningham was biased against him astatine nan clip of his proceedings because he is Jewish.

The appeals tribunal recovered that grounds showed that during his life, Cunningham repeated unsupported antisemitic narratives. When Cunningham became a judge, he continued to usage derogatory connection astir Jewish group extracurricular nan courtroom "with 'great hatred, (and) disgust' and expanding strength arsenic nan years passed," nan tribunal said.

It besides said that during Halprin's trial, Cunningham made violative antisemitic remarks extracurricular nan courtroom astir Halprin successful peculiar and Jews successful general.

"The uncontradicted grounds supports a uncovering that Cunningham formed an sentiment astir Halprin that derived from an extrajudicial facet - Cunningham's venomous antisemitism," nan appeals tribunal wrote successful its ruling.

The tribunal antecedently halted Halprin's execution successful 2019.

"Today, nan Court of Criminal Appeals took a measurement towards broader spot successful nan criminal rule by throwing retired a hopelessly tainted decease judgement handed down by a bigoted and biased judge," Tivon Schardl, 1 of Halprin's attorneys, said successful a statement. "It besides reminded Texans that belief bigotry has nary spot successful our courts."

The bid for a caller proceedings came aft authorities District Judge Lela Mays successful Dallas said successful a December 2022 ruling that Cunningham did not aliases could not curb nan power of his antisemitic bias successful his judicial decision-making during nan trial.

Mays wrote that Cunningham utilized racist, homophobic and antisemitic slurs to mention to Halprin and nan different escaped inmates.

Cunningham stepped down from nan chair successful 2005 and is now an lawyer successful backstage believe successful Dallas. His agency said Wednesday that he would not beryllium commenting connected Halprin's case.

Cunningham antecedently denied allegations of bigotry aft telling The Dallas Morning News successful 2018 that he has a surviving spot that rewards his children for marrying straight, achromatic Christians. He had opposed interracial marriages but later told nan newspaper that his views had evolved.

The Tarrant County District Attorney's Office was appointed to grip ineligible issues related to Halprin's allegations aft nan Dallas County District Attorney's Office, which prosecuted nan case, was disqualified.

In September 2022, Tarrant County prosecutors revenge tribunal documents successful which they said Halprin should get a caller proceedings because Cunningham showed "actual bias" against him.

Of nan 7 inmates who escaped, 1 killed himself earlier nan group was arrested. Four person been executed. Another, Patrick Murphy, awaits execution.

In:
• Irving