'Texas 7' inmate Randy Halprin attends hearing for new trial

DALLAS - One of the "Texas 7" death row inmates convicted of killing an Irving police officer after escaping from prison 25 years ago will soon stand trial again in Dallas County.

Randy Halprin’s new trial

What's new:

"Texas 7" inmate Randy Halprin was in a Dallas County courtroom on Friday morning for an announcement hearing related to his new trial.

Judge Lela Mays asked prosecutors and the defense for an update on how much time they would need to prepare and whether the trial would be a death penalty case.

"Our death notice is still on file. But has there been a final determination decision made? We have been talking. Okay, so that’s all I can tell you," said Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot.

Creuzot also told the judge that because this case is from 2000, there are about 100 boxes of paper records and evidence that will need to be sorted and reviewed during the discovery process. 

He’s hoping to digitize most of the paperwork but said it could take at least two months. 

Defense attorney Phillip Hayes offered to do what he could to help speed up the process.

Before closing, Creuzot told the judge he was planning to file a motion related to Halprin’s second court-appointed attorney, Heath Harris. 

Harris is a defense attorney now. But he was a first assistant in the DA’s office when Halprin’s co-defendant, George Rivas, was executed. 

"It’s the same case. And so obviously, you can see our concern," Creuzot said.

What they're saying:

FOX 4 spoke to Creuzot after the hearing about his concern.

"My personal opinion is to protect the integrity of the case. As a former state district judge, I think there should be extreme caution as to whether he represents Mr. Halprin and perhaps the decision would be not to," he said.

"I mean, if everything that the judge and Creuzot have mentioned today is accurate, and that's something that we might be concerned with. I know Mr. Harris is a fair lawyer and he's been on both sides. But that's always a concern in a case like this," Hayes said.

Harris was not in court on Friday because of a family issue.

What's next:

The next status hearing for the case is scheduled for March 21.

The judge urged Creuzot to file his motion and suggested she would consider it at the next hearing.

Who are the ‘Texas 7’?

The backstory:

Halprin, who is now 47, was one of seven inmates who became known as the "Texas 7."

In December of 2000, they escaped from a South Texas prison and then committed several robberies, including one at an Irving sporting goods store where they shot and killed 29-year-old Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins.

Halprin is one of only two members of the "Texas 7" still alive.

Larry Harper killed himself before the group was arrested. Four others – Joseph Garcia, Donald Newbury, Michael Rodriguez, and George Rivas – have been executed. Patrick Murphy is still awaiting execution.

Appeals court orders new trial 

What we know:

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted Halprin’s execution in 2019. 

This past November, the court overturned the conviction and ordered that Halprin be given a new trial.

New evidence supported the argument that Judge Vickers Cunningham, who presided over Halprin's original trial, held a strong bias against the defendant because he is Jewish.

"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. 

Cunningham is now retired from the bench and works as an attorney in a private practice.

He has not commented on Halprin’s case.

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