Texas 7 escapee Randy Halperin marries ahead of new Dallas trial
The member of the infamous Texas 7 prison escapees is now a married man.
Randy Halperin was back in a Dallas County courtroom on Friday as prosecutors and defense attorneys moved forward with the discovery efforts for his new trial.
Halperin’s new bride was also there and spoke to FOX 4.
Randy Halperin Retrial
What's new:
Friday’s status hearing was for the judge to check on the progress being made.
Both sides talked about dates to review boxes of evidence from the case that started in 2000. They both agreed to a September deadline for going through the paperwork and 15 VHS tapes that will need to be converted before they can be viewed.
What's next:
The next status hearing is set for October.
The Dallas County District Attorney’s Office still hasn’t said whether it plans to seek the death penalty again or life in prison during the new trial.
That answer may not come until the county’s new district attorney, Amber Givens, takes office in January.
Randy Halperin’s Wife
What we know:
A woman who identified herself as Halperin’s wife attended Friday’s hearing. She told FOX 4 that they were married a few months ago.
"I met him through a pen pall website actually," Jessica Halperin said. "Randy is an incredibly kind and wonderful man, and I am honored to be with him."
When asked what she wants people to know about her husband, she reiterated that he is kind and generous.
"I would like people to know that Randy is a very, very kind and generous person, and he has bettered himself over these past several decades. And he really does deserve a second chance," she said.
She also wants the victim’s family to feel like they are satisfied with the outcome.
Who are Randy Halprin and 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.
'Texas 7' death row inmate who murdered police officer could get a new trial
A man convicted of killing an Irving police officer could get a new trial because of the supposed bias of the judge who oversaw his trial.
A man convicted of killing an Irving police officer could get a new trial because of the supposed bias of the judge who oversaw his trial.
"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.
The Source: The information in this story comes from Friday's court hearing and past news coverage of the case.