The Texas appeals court ordered a new trial for Randy Halprin, a Jewish man on death row, because of a clear antisemitic bias on the part of the judge who presided over his case.
Halprin was part of a group of inmates who escaped from prison known as the “Texas 7.” They fatally shot a police officer after their escape in 2000.
The appeals court found that former Judge Vickers Cunningham exhibited bigoted views against Jewish people, Black people, and members of the LGBTQ community, as reported by The Associated Press. These views influenced his ability to fairly adjudicate Halprin’s case, according to the court.
After escaping, the group committed multiple robberies, one of which led to the tragic death of Aubrey Hawkins, a 29-year-old Irving police officer who was shot 11 times. Each of the individuals involved were later convicted and sent to death row. However, Halprin’s execution was put on hold in 2019 by the same appeals court, The Associated Press reported.
Halprin’s attorneys argued that Cunningham had referred to their client and his co-defendants using racial slurs and antisemitic rhetoric. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals found evidence suggesting that the former judge “repeated unsupported antisemitic narratives” and demonstrated “hatred and disgust” towards Jewish people outside of the court.
By a vote of 6-3, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has granted a new trial to death-row prisoner Randy Halprin based upon the antisemitic bias of his trial judge, Vickers Cunningham. Here is the majority opinion. https://t.co/2SfVXxK122 @TexDefender @TCADPdotORG pic.twitter.com/MrBf5wLwxh
— Robert Dunham (@RDunhamDP) November 8, 2024
“The uncontradicted evidence supports a finding that Cunningham formed an opinion about Halprin that derived from an extrajudicial factor – Cunningham’s poisonous antisemitism,” the court noted in its ruling. “The case was marred by the judge’s bias against Halprin because of his Jewish faith, leading to Halprin’s conviction being overturned and a retrial being ordered by a 6-3 vote.”
Tivon Schardl, one of Halprin’s attorneys, lauded the ruling. “Today, the Court of Criminal Appeals took a step towards broader trust in the criminal law by throwing out a hopelessly tainted death judgement handed down by a bigoted and biased judge,” he said in a written statement.
Amanda Tackett, who previously worked on Cunningham’s campaign for Dallas district attorney, said the former judge wished to “save Dallas from ‘n*ggers,’ ‘w*tbacks,’ Jews, and dirty Catholics,” according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Cunningham has also repeatedly espoused anti-Jewish stereotypes, according to those who know him. In one instance detailed by Tackett, he warned that Jewish people need “to be shut down” because they control “all the money and all the power.” He reportedly wore a stereotypical banker’s outfit (a green visor and suspenders) at a casino-themed party and declared that he was a “Jew banker.” Even Cunningham’s mother admitted at one point that her son’s “biggest burden was his bigotry.”
Tarrant County prosecutors stated in September 2022 that Halprin should be given a new trial because of Cunningham’s “actual bias” against him.
