(Jewish Group) Texas 7' death row prisoner claims judge was biased

[Behind the Aegis]

(THIS IS THE JEWISH GROUP! RESPECT!!)

A “Texas Seven” escapee on death row has filed an appeal claiming a former Dallas County judge referred to him with obscenity-laced anti-Semitic language, part of an alleged pattern of racism and bias so serious that he says the jurist should have recused himself before the man’s 2003 trial.

The federal appeal filed by Randy Halprin, a Jewish man who was sentenced to die under the controversial law of parties, contends that ex-Judge Vickers Cunningham routinely used racial slurs, including the N-word. He allegedly told a friend that he wanted to run for office so he would save Dallas from “(N-words), Jews, ‘w------s,’ and dirty Catholics” and that he took extra pride in overseeing the death sentences of the Latino and Jewish members of the Texas Seven.

“A judge’s religious and racial prejudices are uniquely offensive to the Constitution and the legitimacy of the criminal justice system,” Halprin’s attorneys wrote. “Given his lifelong views, Judge Cunningham must have been aware that he was required to recuse himself given his bias.”


Cunningham has faced allegations of bigotry before; the erstwhile jurist drew heat last year after he admitted to the Dallas Morning News that he’d set up a living trust that rewarded his children if they married a fellow white Christian.

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[Jake Stern]

1. A few points

1. I oppose the death penalty in ALL circumstances

2. I believe that the Law of Parties and it's mother doctrine the "felony murder rule" are repugnant to justice and virtually all other Common Law jurisdictions agree having either abolished the rule legislatively or had it ruled unconstitutional by courts.

3. I hope this succeeds but in this country, chock-a-block with people who get a hard on for executing other human beings, it's doubtful.