Condemned killer wins stay of execution

Houston (WBAP/KLIF) – A Jewish death row inmate who was part of the “Texas 7” gang of escaped prisoners, and faced execution in less than a week has won a reprieve after claiming the former judge at his trial was anti-semitic. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Friday granted a stay of execution for Randy Halprin, who had been scheduled to die by lethal injection October 10. Halprin alleged in his appeal that ex-Dallas County judge Vickers Cunningham referred to him with anti-semitic language. Halprin was one of seven escaped prison inmates who shot and killed Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins on Christmas Eve, 2000.