Texas Seven
The Texas Seven were seven convicted prisoners who escaped from the John B. Connally Unit maximum security prison near San Antonio , Texas , USA , in December 2000 . During their 43-day escape, they committed other crimes, including the murder of police officer Aubrey Hawkins . It was the largest prison breakout and then the largest criminal hunt in Texas state history. One of the escaped committed suicide, the other six were sentenced to death.
Breakout and escape
George Rivas , who was serving a life sentence for multiple robberies and kidnappings, was considered to be the initiator of the outbreak and the leader of the group . For his outbreak plan, he found six accomplices, all of whom had to serve between 30 years and life. These included Joseph Garcia and Michael Rodriguez, convicted of murder, and Donald Newbury, Patrick Murphy, Larry Harper and Randy Halprin, who were arrested for robbery and sexual offenses.
On December 13, 2000, in the workshop building, they successively overpowered eleven prison staff and guards, handcuffed them, and locked them in the control room. Disguised as electricians, they then gained entry to a guard house and a watchtower, overpowered the staff on duty and opened the prison gate. Shortly afterwards they managed to escape with a multitude of captured weapons and a stolen pickup truck.
They hid in motels for days before they decided to commit an armed robbery on December 24th against an Oshman's Sporting Goods store in Irving, near Dallas . They stole several firearms and around $ 70,000 . Officer Aubrey Hawkins of the Irving Police Department was the first police officer to arrive at the scene and was shot by the perpetrators while still in his patrol car, dragged out of his vehicle and rolled over by the perpetrators' getaway car.
After the police murder, the manhunt broadened. The final reward for clues leading to an arrest was $ 500,000.
Seizures, convictions and executions
After a clue, five of the wanted could be located on January 22nd at Coachlight Motel and RV Park in Woodland Park near Colorado Springs , where they pretended to be missionaries alive in a mobile home. A man had recognized the perpetrators through the television program America's Most Wanted and called the police.
For the time being, however, the chief of operations did not have access to the site so as not to endanger bystanders, so George Rivas, Joseph Garcia and Michael Rodriguez were able to leave the property in a stolen vehicle. The three fugitives were then overwhelmed at a gas station not far away. Larry Harper and Randy Halprin were then surrounded in the motor home, whereupon Harper took his own life. Halprin surrendered without resistance.
Two days later, Donald Newbury and Patrick Murphy could also be arrested in a hotel without resistance. Trooper Jason Manspeaker of the Colorado State Patrol was killed in a traffic accident while searching for the last two fugitives.
All six arrested were sentenced to death for the murder of the policeman Aubrey Hawkins by November 2003.
- Michael Rodriguez was born on August 14, 2008,
- George Rivas on February 29, 2012,
- Donald Newbury on February 4, 2015 and
- Joseph Garcia was executed by lethal injection in the Huntsville Unit on December 4, 2018 .
Randy Halprin and Patrick Murphy are awaiting execution on Texas death row.
documentary
- Prison Breaks: The Real Stories - The Texas Seven
- On death row ; Season 1, episode 3 (2012), film by Werner Herzog
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Death Row Information. Retrieved December 5, 2018 .