The Texas 7 were a group of prisoners who escaped from the

John B. Connally Unit The John B. Connally Unit is a maximum-security prison for males located in unincorporated Karnes County, Texas, United States. It is located on Farm to Market Road 632, just east of U.S. Highway 181 south of the city of Kenedy,Kenedy, Texas Kenedy is a city in Karnes County, Texas, United States, named for Mifflin Kenedy, who bought and wanted to develop a new town that would carry his name. The population was 3,473 at the 2020 census, up from 3,296 at the 2010 census. History I ...

, 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 ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Entertainment#Fox Alternative Entertainment, Fox Alternative Entertain ...

''. The seventh committed suicide before he could be arrested. The surviving members were all convicted and

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

for the murder of

Irving, Texas Irving is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and is an Inner suburb, inner city suburb of Dallas. Irving is noted for its #Demographics, racial and ethnic diver ...

, police officer Aubrey Wright Hawkins, who was shot and killed when responding to a robbery perpetrated by the Texas Seven. Four of the six sentenced have since been executed, and another 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 San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

– December 4, 2018, in

Huntsville, Texas Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. Its population was 45,941 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the center of the Huntsville United States micropolitan area, micropolitan area ...

), ''executed''. ** Garcia was originally convicted of murder for killing Miguel Luna in 1996 during a drunken altercation. * Randy Ethan Halprin (born September 13, 1977, in

McKinney, Texas McKinney is a city in and the county seat of Collin County, Texas, United States. It is Collin County's third-largest city, after Plano, Texas, Plano and Frisco, Texas, Frisco. A suburb of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, McKinney is about ...

), convicted and sentenced to death in 2003 but awarded a new trial by the

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) is the court of last resort for all criminal matters in Texas. The Court, which is based in the Supreme Court Building in Downtown Austin, is composed of a presiding judge and eight judges. Article V ...

on November 6, 2024. ** Halprin was originally convicted for child abuse after " reakinga 16-month-old's arms and legs, fracturing his skull and beating his face until one eye filled with blood." Halprin later married by proxy. * Larry James Harper (September 10, 1963, in

Danville, Illinois Danville is a city in Vermilion County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The populations was 29,204 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Danville micropolitan area. History The area that is now Danville was on ...

– January 22, 2001, in

Woodland Park, Colorado Woodland Park is a home rule municipality in Teller County, Colorado, United States. Woodland Park is part of the Colorado Springs, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area. Many residents in this bedroom community commute to Colorado Springs. Wood ...

), committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

by a gunshot to the heart before he could be captured by law enforcement. ** Harper was originally convicted on three counts of aggravated sexual assault after "a series of violent rapes" against women in

El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

. * Patrick Henry Murphy Jr. (born October 3, 1961, in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

), on Texas Death Row awaiting execution. ** Murphy was originally convicted for aggravated sexual assault after "breaking into a woman's home and sexually assaulting her at knifepoint." * Donald Keith Newbury (May 18, 1962, in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...

– February 4, 2015, in

), ''executed''. ** Newbury was originally convicted for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. * George Angel Rivas Jr. (May 6, 1970, in

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

– February 29, 2012, in

), ''executed''. ** Rivas was originally convicted of robbery.King, Gary C. "The Daring Escape of the Texas 7." ''Crime Library''
16
Retrieved September 27, 2009. He married a Canadian woman by proxy. * Michael Anthony Rodriguez (October 29, 1962, in

– August 14, 2008, in

), ''executed''. ** Rodriguez was originally convicted of 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. An alumnus of

Central Catholic Marianist High School Central Catholic High School is a Catholic, all-male, non-boarding college preparatory school located in the River North District of Downtown San Antonio, Texas, USA, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio. History The school began as ...

, Rodriguez had taken teacher training classes at Southwest Texas State University (now

Texas State University Texas State University (TXST) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in San Marcos, Texas, United States, and another campus in Round Rock, Texas, Round Rock. Since its establishment in 1899, the university has ...

). Rodriguez's father, Raul Rodriguez, pled 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.

Escape

On December 13, 2000, the seven carried out an elaborate scheme and escaped from the

The Dallas Morning News ''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation in 2022 of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885, by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ' ...

'', February 28, 2012. 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. 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. 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. Rodriguez's father, Raul, had provided the men a

getaway car A crime scene getaway is the act of departing from the location where one has committed a crime. It is an act that the offender(s) may or may not have planned in detail, resulting in a variety of outcomes. A :crime scene is the "location of a c ...

. For this act, he was later convicted of escape and providing implements for escape.Graczyk, Michael.
'I've done horrible things': 1st 'Texas 7' escapee executed

Archive
. ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

'', August 14, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2016. A ''Crime Library'' article about the seven compared the breakout to the

June 1962 Alcatraz escape On the night of June 11, 1962, inmates Frank Morris and brothers Clarence and John Anglin escaped from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary, a maximum-security prison located on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, California, United States. Late ...

that occurred decades earlier.

Crime spree and Officer Aubrey Hawkins

The white prison truck was found in the

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores in the United States and 23 other ...

parking lot in Kenedy, Texas. The Texas Seven first entered

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

right after breaking out of the complex. Realizing that they were running out of funds, they robbed a

Radio Shack RadioShack (formerly written as Radio Shack) is an American electronics retailer that was established in 1921 as an amateur radio mail-order business. Its parent company was purchased by Tandy Corporation in 1962, which shifted its focus from ma ...

Pearland, Texas Pearland ( ) is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, Brazoria County, with portions extending into Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend and Harris County, Texas, Harris counties, in Texas, United States. The city of Pearland is a principal city wit ...

, in

Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the Office of Management and Budget, United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands, is the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical ...

, the following day.King, Gary C. "The Daring Escape of the Texas 7." ''Crime Library''
9
Retrieved September 27, 2009. On December 19, four of the members checked into an

Econo Lodge Econo Lodge is a budget motel chain based in the United States and Canada and one of the larger subsidiaries of Choice Hotels. The properties contain a minimum of 40 guest rooms and are often located near highways or highway access. All hotels p ...

motel in

Farmers Branch, Texas Farmers Branch, officially the City of Farmers Branch, is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. It is an inner-ring suburb of Dallas and is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its population was 35,991 at the 2020 census. History ...

, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, under assumed names. They decided to rob a

Sports Authority Sports Authority, Inc. (formerly The Sports Authority) was an American sports retailer based in Englewood, Colorado. At its peak, Sports Authority operated 463 stores in 45 States and Puerto Rico. The company's website was on the GSI Commer ...

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 HawkinsOfficer Aubrey Wright Hawkins #830
" City of Irving. August 27, 2008. Retrieved on January 8, 2019. (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 Parkland Memorial Hospital is a public hospital located in Dallas, Texas. It is the main hospital of the Parkland Health & Hospital System and serves as Dallas County's public hospital. It is located within the Southwestern Medical Distri ...

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

shortly after his arrival. Hawkins had been an officer with the Irving police department since October 4, 1995, and was married and had a son.

Capture

Following an episode of the television show ''

'' 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

. They had apparently tried to pass themselves off as

missionaries A missionary is a member of a religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Miss ...

, playing loud

Christian music Christian music is a genre of music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christianity, Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence and lament, and its f ...

within earshot of their neighbors. The El Paso County Sheriff's Office, Colorado, and Teller County Deputies

SWAT team A SWAT (''Special Weapons and Tactics'') team is a generic term for a police tactical unit within the United States, though the term has also been used by other nations. SWAT units are generally trained, equipped, and deployed to reso ...

found Garcia, Rodriguez, and Rivas in a

Jeep Cherokee The Jeep Cherokee is a line of sport utility vehicles (SUV) manufactured and marketed by Jeep over five generations. Marketed initially as a variant of the Jeep Wagoneer (SJ), the Cherokee has evolved from a full-size SUV to one of the first ...

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. On January 23, 2001, the FBI received information that the remaining two escapees, Newbury and Murphy, were hiding in a

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn by IHG is a chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson (1913–2003), who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee. The chain was a division ...

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

. A deal was brokered with the two, allowing them to make live TV appearances before they were arrested. 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 KKTV (channel 11) is a television station in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, affiliated with CBS. The station is owned by Gray Media, and maintains studios on East Colorado Avenue in downtown Colorado Springs and a transmitter on ...

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 Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

in Texas, with Newbury adding, "the system is as corrupt as we are."

Convictions and executions

In 2008, authorities indicted Patsy Gomez and Raul Rodriguez, the parents of Michael Rodriguez, for conspiring to help the Texas Seven. George Rivas, the ringleader, was the first to be brought to trial; he was convicted and

. 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

. 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, at 18:30. Rodriguez was TDCJ#999413, and his pre-death sentence TDCJ number was 698074. George Rivas, TDCJ#999394, was executed by lethal injection on February 29, 2012, at 18:22. Donald Newbury, TDCJ#999403, was executed by lethal injection on February 4, 2015, at 18:25. Joseph Garcia, TDCJ#999441, was executed by lethal injection on December 4, 2018, at 18:43. The remaining two members are incarcerated on

death row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting executio ...

at the

Polunsky Unit Allan B. Polunsky Unit (TL, formerly the Terrell Unit) is a prison in West Livingston, Texas, West Livingston, unincorporated area, unincorporated Polk County, Texas, United States, located approximately southwest of Livingston, Texas, Living ...

of the

Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails ...

, located in West Livingston.West Livingston CDP, Texas
."

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

. Retrieved on May 9, 2010. Neither currently has an execution date. * Halprin has the TDCJ number 00999453. * Murphy has the TDCJ number 00999461. Murphy was scheduled for execution twice, first on March 28, 2019. Murphy, who converted to Buddhism on death row, was granted a last-minute reprieve by the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

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 In United States law, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, together with that Amendment's Free Exercise Clause, form the constitutional right of freedom of religion. The ''Establishment Clause'' an ...

and

Free Exercise Clause The Free Exercise Clause accompanies the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The ''Establishment Clause'' and the ''Free Exercise Clause'' together read: Free exercise is the liberty of persons to r ...

of the United States Constitution. 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 The United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas (in case citations, S.D. Tex.) is the federal district court with jurisdiction over the southeastern part of Texas. The court's headquarters is in Houston, Houston, Texas, and ...

on November 7 to decide whether his religious discrimination lawsuit had merit. Halprin was scheduled to be executed on October 10, 2019. However, his execution was stayed by the

on October 4, 2019, due to concerns of racial and religious discrimination from his trial judge. Judge Vickers "Vic" Cunningham allegedly referred to Halprin, who is Jewish, as a "

kike ''Kike'' (), also known as the K-word, is an ethnic slur directed at Jews. The etymological origin comes from the Yiddish word for circle, (''kaykel''), itself a derivation of the Ancient Greek word . Etymology According to the ''Oxford Eng ...

" and a "fucking Jew" and said Jews "needed to be shut down because they controlled all the money." 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 anti-Semitic bias deprived Halprin of due process of law. The bodies of Harper, Rodriguez, Newbury, and Garcia are buried at

Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery The Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery is the main prison cemetery in Texas, located in Huntsville and operated by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). The cemetery is colloquially known as Peckerwood Hill. The name originates from "Peckerwoo ...

Media portrayals

In 2001, the American Court TV (now

TruTV TruTV (stylized as truTV) is an American basic cable Television channel, channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel primarily broadcasts reruns of Television comedy, comedy, Reality television, docusoaps and reality shows, with a rec ...

) television series ''Mugshots'' released an episode covering Rivas, titled ''Mugshots - George Rivas''. 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 Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to true crime documentaries, similar to corporate sibling HLN. It is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery's netw ...

aired an episode about the case on the docuserie
''FBI: Criminal Pursuit''
subtitled "The Deadly Seven". One year later, on March 23, 2012, Investigation Discovery aired an episode of

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusu ...

's documentary series ''

On Death Row ''On Death Row'' is a television mini-series written and directed by Werner Herzog about capital punishment in the United States. The series grew out of the same project which produced Herzog's documentary film '' Into the Abyss''. The series ...

'', which dealt with Rivas and Garcia. On July 30, 2014,

's ''

I (Almost) Got Away with It ''I (Almost) Got Away with It'' is an American television documentary series on Investigation Discovery Investigation Discovery (stylized and branded on-air as ID since 2008) is an American multinational pay television network dedicated to ...

'' aired an episode titled "Got to Be Part of the Texas Seven". In Spring 2019, ITV UK produced the series: ''Death Row: Countdown To Execution'' hosted by

Susanna Reid Susanna Victoria Reid (born 10 December 1970) is an English television presenter and journalist. She was a co-presenter of '' BBC Breakfast'' from 2001 until 2014 alongside Bill Turnbull and Charlie Stayt. She also presented '' Sunday Morning ...

. Episode 1 chronicles the case of one of the members of Texas 7: Patrick Murphy. The series aired in the UK in June 2019. The December 8, 2023, episode of the Oxygen Network series "Homicide for the Holidays" portrayed the events in an episode entitled "Christmas Eve Killing".

References

External links

* - City of Irving * - City of Irving * {{DEFAULTSORT:Texas Seven 2000 murders in the United States American people convicted of murder Criminals from Texas December 2000 crimes in the United States January 2001 crimes in the United States People executed by Texas by lethal injection Quantified groups of defendants Escapees from Texas detention People convicted of murder by Texas Murder in Texas Murder–suicides in Texas Gangs in Texas 2000s crimes in Texas Suicides by firearm in Texas Prison escapes in North America