{{Short description|Group of American escaped convicts}} {{Use American English|date=December 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}} thumb|The seven inmates involved in the escape.<br />Top row, left to right, '''Joseph Garcia''', '''Randy Halprin''', '''Larry James Harper''', and '''Patrick Murphy Jr'''. <br />Bottom row, left to right, '''Donald Newbury''', '''George Rivas''', and '''Michael Anthony Rodriguez'''. The '''Texas 7''' were a group of prisoners who escaped from the John B. Connally Unit near Kenedy, Texas, on December 13, 2000. Six of the seven were apprehended over a month later, between January 22–24, 2001, as a direct result of the television show ''America's Most Wanted''. One of the prisoners committed suicide before he could be arrested. The surviving members were all convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of police officer Aubrey Wright Hawkins, who was shot and killed when responding to a robbery committed by the Texas Seven. These are the most death sentences that have been imposed in a single case in modern American history.
Four of the six have since been executed, while one of the surviving two has been granted a new trial based on alleged judicial bias.
== Members == The group included the following Texas state prisoners: * '''Joseph Christopher Garcia''' (November 6, 1971, in San Antonio, Texas – December 4, 2018, in Huntsville, Texas), ''executed''.<ref>"Offenders on Death Row", ''Texas Department of Justice''.[http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/offendersondrow.htm] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071120020842/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/offendersondrow.htm|date=November 20, 2007}} Retrieved September 1, 2017.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://abc13.com/4833515/|title=4th 'Texas 7' prison escapee executed for killing officer|date=December 5, 2018|website=ABC13 Houston|access-date=December 8, 2018}}</ref> ** Garcia was serving a 50-year sentence for murder for stabbing Miguel Luna to death during a drunken altercation in 1996.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/Texas-7-escapee-Joseph-Garcia-scheduled-for-13441323.php|title='Texas 7' escapee Joseph Garcia executed in Huntsville|first=Keri|last=Blakinger|date=December 4, 2018|website=HoustonChronicle.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2018/12/04/Texas-Seven-escapee-executed/8001543972109/|title='Texas Seven' escapee executed|last=Cone|first=Allen|work=United Press International}}</ref> * '''Randy Ethan Halprin''' (born September 13, 1977, in McKinney, Texas), convicted and sentenced to death in 2003 but awarded a new trial by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on November 6, 2024.<ref name="nbcdfw.com">{{cite web | url=https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/texas-7-randy-halprin-new-trial-appeal/3691082/ | title='Texas 7' member Randy Halprin granted new trial by court of criminal appeals}}</ref><ref>King, Gary C. "The Daring Escape of the Texas 7", ''Crime Library''. [http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/seven/13.html 13] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090627085924/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/seven/13.html |date=June 27, 2009 }}. Retrieved September 27, 2009.</ref> **Halprin was serving a 30-year sentence for child abuse after "[breaking] a 16-month-old's arms and legs, fracturing his skull and beating his face until one eye filled with blood."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/crime/2019/06/11/jewish-texas-7-member-says-judge-who-sent-him-to-death-row-is-anti-semitic-asks-for-new-trial/|title=Jewish Texas 7 member says judge who sent him to death row is anti-Semitic, asks for new trial|date=June 11, 2019|website=Dallas News}}</ref> He has written about this incident in his self-published memoir ''Falling Down.'' Halprin later married by proxy and divorced in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|author=Korosec, Thomas|url=https://www.dmagazine.com/publications/d-magazine/2011/june/death-row-inmate-randy-halprin-and-cunning-bride-crystal-wilson/|title=The Death Row Inmate and His Cunning Bride|publisher=D Magazine|date=June 2011|access-date=January 8, 2019}}</ref> * '''Larry James Harper''' (September 10, 1963, in Danville, Illinois – January 22, 2001, in Woodland Park, Colorado), committed suicide by a gunshot to the heart before he could be captured by law enforcement.<ref>King, Gary C. "The Daring Escape of the Texas 7." ''Crime Library''. [http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/seven/14.html 14] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090703191005/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/seven/14.html |date=July 3, 2009 }}. Retrieved September 27, 2009.</ref> ** Harper was serving a 50-year sentence for three counts of aggravated sexual assault for beating and raping three women in El Paso. He tied up all of his victims, including one to a tree. Harper committed the rapes after being rejected by a woman.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.chron.com/news/article/Inmate-s-suicide-foretold-1994381.php|title=Inmate's suicide foretold|first1=Jim|last1=Henderson|first2=John|last2=Williams|date=January 23, 2001|newspaper=Houston Chronicle |access-date=October 22, 2024}}</ref> * '''Patrick Henry Murphy Jr.''' (born October 3, 1961, in Dallas, Texas), on death row awaiting execution.<ref>"Offenders on Death Row". ''Texas Department of Justice''.[https://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=03307331]. Retrieved June 22, 2019.</ref> ** Murphy was serving a 50-year sentence for breaking into the apartment of a high school acquaintance in 1984, covering her head with a pillowcase, and raping her at knifepoint. He had previously been dishonorably discharged from the Army.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2019/03/28/texas-seven-patrick-murphy-execution-law-of-parties/|title=In last-minute ruling, U.S. Supreme Court stops execution of "Texas Seven" prisoner|first=Jolie|last=McCullough|date=March 28, 2019|website=The Texas Tribune}}</ref> * '''Donald Keith Newbury''' (May 18, 1962, in Albuquerque, New Mexico – February 4, 2015, in Huntsville, Texas), ''executed''.<ref>King, Gary C. "The Daring Escape of the Texas 7." ''Crime Library''.[http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/seven/11.html 11] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090827134537/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/seven/11.html |date=August 27, 2009 }}. Retrieved September 27, 2009.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://deathpenaltynews.blogspot.com/2015/02/texas-executes-donald-newbury.html|title=Texas executes Donald Newbury|date=February 5, 2015|work=Death Penalty News|publisher=deathpenaltynews.blogspot.com}}</ref> ** Newbury was serving a 99-year sentence aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. In 1998, he walked into an Austin hotel with a sawed-off shotgun and demanded money from a clerk. The clerk was not injured. Newbury had two separate prior convictions for aggravated robbery.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2015/02/04/donald-newbury-be-executed-irving-officer-murder/|title=Member of "Texas Seven" Executed|first=Terri|last=Langford|date=February 4, 2015|website=The Texas Tribune}}</ref> * '''George Angel Rivas Jr.''' (May 6, 1970, in El Paso, Texas – February 29, 2012, in Huntsville, Texas), ''executed''. ** Rivas, the mastermind of the escape, was serving 18 life sentences for 13 counts of aggravated kidnapping, four counts of aggravated robbery, and one count of burglary of a habitation. Rivas was convicted of a string of intricately planned robberies involving the use of disguises and walkie-talkies.<ref name="Dare16">King, Gary C. "The Daring Escape of the Texas 7." ''Crime Library''. [https://web.archive.org/web/20040501034124/http://crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/seven/16.html?sect=18 16]. Retrieved September 27, 2009.</ref> He married a Canadian woman by proxy. Rivas had once aspired to be a police officer.<ref>{{cite web|author=Graczyk, Michael.|url=http://www.chron.com/news/article/Leader-of-Texas-7-prison-break-gang-put-to-death-3370673.php|title=Leader of 'Texas 7' prison-break gang put to death|publisher=Houston Chronicle|date=February 29, 2012|access-date=February 29, 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120303211636/http://www.chron.com/news/article/Leader-of-Texas-7-prison-break-gang-put-to-death-3370673.php|archive-date=March 3, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|agency=ASSOCIATED PRESS |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/Texas-7-prison-break-leader-executed-3372313.php|title=Texas 7' prison-break leader executed|publisher=Houston Chronicle|date=February 29, 2012|access-date=October 23, 2019}}</ref> * '''Michael Anthony Rodriguez''' (October 29, 1962, in San Antonio, Texas – August 14, 2008, in Huntsville, Texas), ''executed''. ** Rodriguez was serving a life sentence for capital murder for hiring Rolando Ruiz to murder his wife Theresa in 1992. Also convicted were Rodriguez's brother Mark, Joe Ramon and Robert Silva.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_info/ruizroland.jpg|title=Ruiz, Rolando|website=Texas Department of Criminal Justice}}</ref> An alumnus of Central Catholic Marianist High School, Rodriguez had taken teacher training classes at Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University).<ref>{{cite web |last=King |first=Gary C. |title=The Daring Escape of the Texas 7 |work=Crime Library |url=http://crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/seven/15.html?sect=18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040501032534/http://crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/seven/15.html?sect=18 |access-date=September 27, 2009 |archive-date=May 1, 2004 |quote=[...]but that was as far as the similarities between the two men went. While Garcia [...] in his classic yellow Mercedes-Benz. }}</ref> Rodriguez's father, Raul Rodriguez, pleaded guilty to escape and providing implements for escape and elected to have a jury determine his sentence. He was sentenced to 10 years for escape and 5 years for providing implements for escape and fined $10,000 for each of the convictions. A later appeal was rejected in 2006.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/court-of-criminal-appeals/2006/836-05-5.html | title=Rodriguez v. State }}</ref><ref name="graczyk"/>
== Escape == On December 13, 2000, the seven carried out an elaborate scheme and escaped from the John B. Connally Unit, a maximum-security state prison near the South Texas city of Kenedy.<ref name=DallasMorning>"[http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20120228-mastermind-of-texas-seven-prison-escape-officers-slaying-to-be-executed.ece Mastermind of Texas Seven prison escape, officer's slaying to be executed]." ''The Dallas Morning News'', February 28, 2012.</ref>
At the time of the breakout, the reported ringleader of the Texas Seven, 30-year-old George Rivas, was serving 18 consecutive 15-to-life sentences. Michael Anthony Rodriguez, 38, was serving a 99-to-life term for contracting the murder of his wife by Rolando Ruiz Jr., who was later executed for the crime on March 7, 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rolando-ruiz-remorseful-hit-man-in-texas-murder-for-hire-slaying-is-executed|title=Remorseful hit man in Texas murder-for-hire slaying executed|date=March 8, 2017|work=CBS News}}</ref> Larry James Harper, 37, Joseph Garcia, 29, and Patrick Henry Murphy Jr., 39, were all serving 50-year sentences. Donald Keith Newbury, 38, the member with the longest rap sheet in the group, was serving a 99-year sentence. The youngest member, Randy Halprin, 23, was serving a 30-year sentence for injury to a child.<ref>"A Jewish man was sentenced to death by an antisemitic judge, the court finds. Now, he could get a second chance". By Jaclyn Peiser for The Washington Post. Published Oct. 13, 2021 https://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/A-Jewish-man-was-sentenced-to-death-by-an-16529258.php</ref>
At around 11:20 a.m. the seven men overpowered prison workers and guards, took the latter’s uniforms, stole 14 handguns, a shotgun, an AR-15 rifle and more than 100 rounds of ammunition before fleeing north in a prison truck. The victims were left unconscious and tied up inside an electrical room.<ref>[https://www.ksat.com/news/local/2023/11/16/i-regret-it-every-day-one-of-the-last-remaining-members-of-the-texas-7-talks-prison-escape-pending-execution/ "Texas executes Joseph Garcia, one of the "Texas Seven" prison escapees"], ksat.com. Accessed March 26, 2025.</ref> Rodriguez's father, Raul, had provided the men a getaway car. For this act, he was later convicted of escape and providing implements for escape.<ref name="graczyk">Graczyk, Michael. "[http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/I-ve-done-horrible-things-1st-Texas-7-1774726.php 'I've done horrible things': 1st 'Texas 7' escapee executed]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160309103412/http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/I-ve-done-horrible-things-1st-Texas-7-1774726.php Archive]). ''Houston Chronicle'', August 14, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2016.</ref>
A ''Crime Library'' article about the seven compared the breakout to the June 1962 Alcatraz escape that occurred decades earlier.<ref>King, Gary C."The Daring Escape of the Texas 7." ''Crime Library''. [http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/seven/6.html 6]. Retrieved September 27, 2009.</ref>
== Crime spree and Officer Aubrey Hawkins == thumb|Aubrey Hawkins, the police officer killed by the Texas Seven The white prison truck was found in the Walmart parking lot in Kenedy, Texas. The Texas Seven first entered San Antonio right after breaking out of the complex.<ref>King, Gary C. "The Daring Escape of the Texas 7." ''Crime Library''. [http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/seven/8.html 8]. Retrieved September 27, 2009.</ref> Realizing that they were running out of funds, they robbed a Radio Shack in Pearland, Texas, in Greater Houston, the following day.<ref name="Dare9">King, Gary C. "The Daring Escape of the Texas 7." ''Crime Library''. [http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/seven/9.html 9]. Retrieved September 27, 2009.</ref>
On December 19, four of the members checked into an Econo Lodge motel in Farmers Branch, Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, under assumed names.<ref name="Dare9"/> They decided to rob a Sports Authority in nearby Irving. On December 24, 2000, they entered the store, bound and gagged all the staff, and stole at least 40 guns and sets of ammunition, including $70,000 from the store's safe. An ex-employee in her car outside the store noticed the commotion inside and called the police. Irving police officer Aubrey Wright Hawkins<ref name=Hawkinsmem>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20080827105858/https://cityofirving.org/police/memorial-pages/ahawkins.html Officer Aubrey Wright Hawkins #830]." City of Irving. August 27, 2008. Retrieved on January 8, 2019.</ref> (February 23, 1971 – December 24, 2000) responded to the call and, upon arriving at the scene, was almost immediately ambushed, being shot 11 times and run over by the escaped convicts as they fled the scene. Hawkins died at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas shortly after his arrival.<ref>King, Gary C."The Daring Escape of the Texas 7." ''Crime Library''. [http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/seven/18.html 18]. Retrieved September 27, 2009.</ref> Hawkins had been an officer with the Irving police department since October 4, 1995, and was married and had a son.<ref name=Hawkinsmem/>
== Capture == [[File:PolunskyUnitWestLivingstonTX.jpg|thumb|The surviving members are held at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit.]] Following an episode of the television show ''America's Most Wanted'' that first aired on January 20, 2001, several people phoned in possible sightings of the suspects at the Coachlight Motel and R.V. Park in Woodland Park, Colorado.<ref name=CNN>{{cite news|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/01/22/texas.escapees.03/index.html|title=FBI searching for 2 Texas escapees still on the loose|publisher=CNN|date=January 22, 2001|access-date=June 28, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060209042816/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/01/22/texas.escapees.03/index.html |archive-date = February 9, 2006}}</ref> They had apparently tried to pass themselves off as missionaries, playing loud Christian music within earshot of their neighbors.<ref name=DallasMorning />
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office, Colorado, and Teller County Deputies SWAT team found Garcia, Rodriguez, and Rivas in a Jeep Cherokee in the RV Park, before following them to a nearby gas station where they were arrested, and later found Halprin and Harper in an RV; Halprin surrendered peacefully, but Harper was found dead after a standoff, having shot himself in the chest with a pistol. The surviving four were taken into federal custody.<ref name=CNN />
On January 23, 2001, the FBI received information that the remaining two escapees, Newbury and Murphy, were hiding in a Holiday Inn in Colorado Springs, Colorado. A deal was brokered with the two, allowing them to make live TV appearances before they were arrested.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://archives.cnn.com/2001/LAW/01/24/tx.captured.convicts/index.html|title=Captured convicts appear before a judge; advised of rights and pending extradition|publisher=CNN|date=January 24, 2001|access-date=June 28, 2007|archive-date=May 13, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513053828/http://archives.cnn.com/2001/LAW/01/24/tx.captured.convicts/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Media was tipped off when a guest asked KKTV chief photographer Mike Petkash and reporter Jeannette Hinds why he could not get to the hotel. The pair drove to the hotel, finding it flooded with law enforcement. In the early hours of January 24, a local KKTV television anchorman, Eric Singer, was taken into the hotel where he interviewed the two by telephone while on camera. Newbury and Murphy harshly denounced the criminal justice system in Texas, with Newbury adding, "the system is as corrupt as we are."<ref>News, ABC. "Transcript of Escapees' Interview." ABC News. ABC News Network, January 24, 2001.</ref>
==Convictions and executions== [[File:HuntsvilleUnitHuntsvilleTX.jpg|thumb|left|Huntsville Unit, where Rivas, Rodriguez, Newbury, and Garcia were executed.]] In 2008, authorities indicted Patsy Gomez and Raul Rodriguez, the parents of Michael Rodriguez, for conspiring to help the Texas Seven.<ref>"[http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D90RM1JO1.html Accomplice to Texas Seven prison escapees indicted in gun charges]." ''Associated Press'' at ''The Dallas Morning News''. May 24, 2008. Retrieved September 27, 2009.</ref>
George Rivas, the ringleader, was the first to be brought to trial; he was convicted and sentenced to death. Subsequently, the other five surviving members of the Texas Seven were brought to trial, convicted, and sentenced to death.
Rodriguez announced that he wished to forgo further appeal beyond the mandatory death-penalty appeal to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. A court-ordered psychiatric evaluation in January 2007 concluded that he was mentally competent to decide to forgo further appeals. Twenty months later, he became the first of the six surviving members to be executed on August 14, 2008<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.star-telegram.com/189/story/629612.html|title= 14 August execution date for Texas 7 member|publisher=Fort Worth Star-Telegram|date=May 8, 2008|access-date=May 8, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080508150017/http://www.star-telegram.com/189/story/629612.html |archive-date = May 8, 2008}}</ref><ref>"[https://www.foxnews.com/story/texas-7-fugitive-who-dropped-appeals-executed 'Texas 7' Fugitive Who Dropped Appeals Executed]." ''Associated Press'' at ''Fox News''. Thursday August 14, 2008. Retrieved September 27, 2009.</ref> by lethal injection.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna26208355 |title=Infamous ‘Texas 7’ fugitive executed |date=15 August 2008 |work=NBC News}}</ref>
George Rivas was executed by lethal injection on February 29, 2012.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/texas-prisoner-with-colorado-connection-put-to-death/ |title=Texas Prisoner With Colorado Connection Put To Death |date=February 29, 2012 |work=CBS News}}</ref> Donald Newbury was executed by lethal injection on February 4, 2015.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/05/texas-seven-fugitive-donald-newbury-execution/22913077/ |title='Texas 7' fugitive killer Donald Newbury put to death |last=Whitely |first=Jason |date=February 5, 2015 |work=USA Today}}</ref> Joseph Garcia was executed by lethal injection on December 4, 2018.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/12/5/joseph-garcia-notorious-texas-7-member-executed |title=Joseph Garcia, notorious ‘Texas 7’ member, executed |date=December 5, 2018 |work=Al Jazeera Media Network }}</ref> The bodies of Harper, Rodriguez, Newbury, and Garcia are buried at Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery.
The remaining two members, Halprin and Murphy, are incarcerated on death row at the Polunsky Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, located in West Livingston.<!-- Every TDCJ profile linked says "Polunsky" --><ref name="CDPMap">"[http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/MapItDrawServlet?geo_id=16000US4877662&_bucket_id=50&tree_id=420&context=saff&_lang=en&_sse=on West Livingston CDP, Texas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606111713/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/MapItDrawServlet?geo_id=16000US4877662&_bucket_id=50&tree_id=420&context=saff&_lang=en&_sse=on |date=2011-06-06 }}." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 9, 2010.</ref> As of the end of 2025, neither has an execution date.
Murphy was scheduled for execution twice, first on March 28, 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Second-to-last-Texas-7-escapee-gets-March-13455243.php|title=Second-to-last 'Texas 7' escapee gets March execution date - HoustonChronicle.com|date=December 10, 2018|website=www.chron.com|language=en-US|access-date=December 11, 2018}}</ref> Murphy, who converted to Buddhism on death row, was granted a last-minute reprieve by the United States Supreme Court on the basis that TDCJ's denial of his request to have a Buddhist priest in the execution room with him violated the Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause of the United States Constitution.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/9e2ecc41a2bb4b6da0a36de17382509e|title='Texas 7' prison-break gang member gets execution reprieve|date=March 28, 2019|website=www.apnews.com|language=en-US|access-date=March 28, 2019}}</ref> Murphy was then given a second execution date of November 13, 2019. However, his execution was stayed by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas on November 7 to decide whether his religious discrimination lawsuit had merit.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Whitely |first1=Jason |title=Texas 7 Escapee Gets Second Stay of Execution after Argument over Religious Discrimination |url=https://www.wfaa.com/mobile/article/news/local/texas-7-escapee-gets-second-stay-of-execution-religious-discrimination/287-4e8866f4-1318-4630-ad8c-8493056e9e0f |website=WFAA |date=November 7, 2019 |access-date=November 7, 2019}}</ref>
Halprin was scheduled to be executed on October 10, 2019. However, his execution was stayed by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on October 4, 2019, due to concerns of racial and religious discrimination from his trial judge.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.texastribune.org/2019/10/04/randy-halprin-texas-seven-execution/|title="Texas Seven" member Randy Halprin wins stay of execution amid claim of anti-Semitic judge|first1=The Texas|last1=Tribune|first2=Jolie|last2=McCullough|date=October 4, 2019|website=The Texas Tribune}}</ref> Judge Vickers "Vic" Cunningham allegedly referred to Halprin, who is Jewish, as a "kike" and a "fucking Jew" and said Jews "needed to be shut down because they controlled all the money."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/09/06/jewish-death-row-inmate-judge-anti-semitism-randy-halprin/|title=A judge who sentenced a Jewish inmate used anti-Semitic slurs, lawyers say. They want a new trial before he's executed.|first=Timothy |last=Bella |newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref> On November 6, 2024, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted Halprin's request for a new trial based on the finding that Judge Cunningham's antisemitic bias deprived Halprin of due process of law.<ref name="nbcdfw.com"/> Halprin’s second trial is scheduled to begin in Dallas County on April 5, 2027.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 3, 2025 |title=Retrial date set for Texas 7 member accused of murdering Irving police officer in 2000 |url=https://www.fox4news.com/news/randy-halprin-texas-7-retrial-date-set.amp |access-date=November 20, 2025 |website=Fox 4 Dallas-Fort Worth}}</ref>
== Media portrayals == In 2001, the American Court TV (now TruTV) television series ''Mugshots'' released an episode covering Rivas, titled ''Mugshots - George Rivas''.<ref>{{cite web|title=MUGSHOTS: George Rivas|url=http://filmrise.com/mugshots-george-rivas/|website=FilmRise|publisher=Court TV|access-date=November 8, 2017|date=2001}}</ref>
In 2007, Wild Dream Films produced ''The Hunt For The Texas 7'', a 90-minute feature documentary about the prison break. The film features interviews with members of The Texas 7 currently on Death Row and eyewitnesses to their crimes. The film was aired in late September 2008 on MSNBC.
On March 25, 2011, Investigation Discovery aired an episode about the case on the docuseries [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1870792/ ''FBI: Criminal Pursuit''], subtitled "The Deadly Seven". One year later, on March 23, 2012, Investigation Discovery aired an episode of Werner Herzog's documentary series ''On Death Row'', which dealt with Rivas and Garcia.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}
On July 30, 2014, Investigation Discovery's ''I (Almost) Got Away with It'' aired an episode titled "Got to Be Part of the Texas Seven".<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3687968/ "Got to Be Part of the Texas Seven"], imdb.com. Accessed March 26, 2025.</ref>
In Spring 2019, ITV UK produced the series: ''Death Row: Countdown To Execution'' hosted by Susanna Reid. Episode 1 chronicles the case of one of the members of Texas 7: Patrick Murphy. The series aired in the UK in June 2019.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.itv.com/presscentre/ep1week24/death-row-countdown-execution|title=Death Row: Countdown To Execution Episode 1|website=Press Centre|language=en|access-date=April 10, 2020}}</ref>
The December 8, 2023, episode of the Oxygen Network series "Homicide for the Holidays" portrayed the events in an episode entitled "Christmas Eve Killing".{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}
== See also == {{Portal|Texas}} * List of people executed in Texas, 2000–2009 * List of people executed in Texas, 2010–2019
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131130132842/http://cityofirving.org/police/memorial-pages/timeline-of-texas-prison-escape.asp|title=Timeline of Texas Prison Escape}} - City of Irving * {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113110339/http://cityofirving.org/police/memorial-pages/ahawkins.asp|title=Aubrey Hawkins}}- City of Irving * {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010803220420/http://tdcj.state.tx.us/publications/publications-home.htm|title=Publications: See Serious Incident Review - Connally Unit - December 13, 2000}} * [https://www.randy-halprin.com Website of Randy Halprin]
{{s-start}} ! colspan="3" | Executions carried out in Texas {{s-bef|before=Leon David Dorsey IV|before2=<div style="font-weight: normal">August 12, 2008</div>}} {{s-ttl|title=Michael Anthony Rodriguez|years=August 14, 2008}} {{s-aft|after=William Alfred Murray|after2=<div style="font-weight: normal">September 17, 2008</div>}} |- ! colspan="3" | Executions carried out in the United States {{s-bef|before=Leon David Dorsey IV – Texas|before2=<div style="font-weight: normal">August 12, 2008</div>}} {{s-ttl|title=Michael Anthony Rodriguez – Texas|years=August 14, 2008}} {{s-aft|after=Jack Edward Alderman – Georgia|after2=<div style="font-weight: normal">September 16, 2008</div>}} |- ! colspan="3" | Executions carried out in Texas {{s-bef|before=Rodrigo Hernandez|before2=<div style="font-weight: normal">January 26, 2012</div>}} {{s-ttl|title=George Angel Rivas|years=February 29, 2012}} {{s-aft|after=Keith Steven Thurmond|after2=<div style="font-weight: normal">March 7, 2012</div>}} |- ! colspan="3" | Executions carried out in the United States {{s-bef|before=Robert Henry Moormann – Arizona|before2=<div style="font-weight: normal">February 29, 2012</div>}} {{s-ttl|title=George Angel Rivas – Texas|years=February 29, 2012}} {{s-aft|after=Keith Steven Thurmond – Texas|after2=<div style="font-weight: normal">March 7, 2012</div>}} |- ! colspan="3" | Executions carried out in Texas {{s-bef|before=Robert Charles Ladd|before2=<div style="font-weight: normal">January 29, 2015</div>}} {{s-ttl|title=Donald Keith Newbury|years=February 4, 2015}} {{s-aft|after=Manuel Vasquez|after2=<div style="font-weight: normal">March 11, 2015</div>}} |- ! colspan="3" | Executions carried out in the United States {{s-bef|before=Robert Charles Ladd – Texas|before2=<div style="font-weight: normal">January 29, 2015</div>}} {{s-ttl|title=Donald Keith Newbury – Texas|years=February 4, 2015}} {{s-aft|after=Walter Timothy Storey – Missouri|after2=<div style="font-weight: normal">February 11, 2015</div>}} |- ! colspan="3" | Executions carried out in Texas {{s-bef|before=Robert Moreno Ramos|before2=<div style="font-weight: normal">November 14, 2018</div>}} {{s-ttl|title=Joseph Christopher Garcia|years=December 4, 2018}} {{s-aft|after=Alvin Avon Braziel Jr.|after2=<div style="font-weight: normal">December 11, 2018</div>}} |- ! colspan="3" | Executions carried out in the United States {{s-bef|before=Roberto Moreno Ramos – Texas|before2=<div style="font-weight: normal">November 14, 2018</div>}} {{s-ttl|title=Joseph Christopher Garcia – Texas|years=December 4, 2018}} {{s-aft|after=David Earl Miller – Tennessee|after2=<div style="font-weight: normal">December 6, 2018</div>}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Texas Seven}} Category:2000 murders in the United States Category:Antisemitism in Texas Category:Capital punishment in Texas Category:Criminals from Texas Category:December 2000 crimes in the United States Category:January 2001 crimes in the United States Category:Quantified groups of defendants Category:Escapees from Texas detention Category:Murder–suicides in Texas Category:Gangs in Texas Category:2000s crimes in Texas Category:Prison escapes in North America