DALLAS (1080 KRLD) - One of the last two surviving Texas Seven members has just been turned down by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Patrick Henry Murphy, Jr. is scheduled for execution Nov. 13, 2019.
Murphy was the getaway car driver in December 2000 when Irving police officer Aubrey Hawkins was killed at the Oshman's sporting goods store in an ambush.
Hawkins was across the interstate having a holiday dinner with relatives when he received a call of an armed robbery. It was members of the Texas Seven gang that had escaped from the Connelly prison in southern Texas in the weeks before. He died in a hail of gunfire.
It was the timing that shocked prosecutors.
"The scary thing about Patrick Murphy was he was going to be released from prison. He had mandatory parole release in about a year and a half and chose to break out anyway." said Toby Shook. "We argued that was a key factor in how truly dangerous he was to society."
In a two page opinion, the Court of Criminal Appeals noted Murphy raised two issues. "In the first, he asserts that he is not eligible for a death sentence because he was not a major participant in the felony that resulted in the officer’s death. In the second claim, he asserts that there exists an unacceptable risk that his judge was biased." the opinion said. "We have reviewed the application and find that the allegations do not satisfy the requirements of Article 11.071 § 5. Accordingly, we dismiss the application as an abuse of the writ without reviewing the merits of the claims raised, and we deny Applicant’smotion to stay his execution.
Murphy had been scheduled for execution in March, but it was called off because of a dispute over whether Murphy could have a Buddhist Monk in the execution chamber. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has resolved that problem by barring all religious authorities from the chamber.
Four members of the gang have already been executed. One committed suicide as police closed in. The surviving member, Randy Halprin, was granted a stay while a judge investigates whether the trial court judge had a religious bias against Halprin.
In briefs filed with the court, Halprin says former Judge Vickers Cunningham made disparaging remarks about Halprin's Jewish religion.
Cunningham has denied making the comments.