HOUSTON (AP) — 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 and frequently used racial slurs.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Friday granted a stay of execution for Randy Halprin, who had been scheduled to receive a lethal injection on Oct. 10.
Halprin alleges in his appeal that ex-Dallas County Judge Vickers Cunningham referred to him with anti-Semitic language.
Cunningham declined to comment about the case on Friday.
Halprin was among the inmates who escaped from a South Texas prison in 2000 and committed numerous robberies, including one in which a suburban Dallas police officer was fatally shot.
Halprin and Patrick Murphy are the last two of the "Texas 7" who have not been executed.
Murphy’s execution date is Nov. 13, 2019.
