Randy's Relationship With His Co-Defendants
Randy had a strained relationship with his co-defendants. In the newspaper article via this link Notorious 'Texas Seven' Try to Save One of Their Own By Insulting Him you will see that the group didn't actually like Randy, and this was principally due to his lack of co-operation with their plans. They did not hold back when saying exactly what they thought of him, and the fact that they were plotting to kill him, confirms their frustration with him.
There's no doubt that they did NOT consider Randy as part of a 'team', and despite the Assistant District Attorney at the time (Lisa Smith) claiming that "They're a team; they'll always be a team. Together until the end," that was not the case. The men were neither a team nor a gang as the media, the State, and the Police claimed - they were 7 individuals who decided to escape. The State, from day one and consistently onwards, has made several on-going attempts to twist the facts throughout this entire case, but the fact remains they were not a team or part of any kind of violent gang.
Randy's co-defendants felt no loyalty towards him whatsoever, ergo, they had no reason to sign sworn statements to the fact that they examined Randy's gun and found that it had NOT been fired. It didn't benefit Randy's co-defendants in any way to help him, but the fact they did, supports the truth that Randy was NOT a shooter.
From the outset, during his trial, and over the years of appeals since his conviction, Randy has consistently maintained that he did not take part in any violence during the escape or the robberies, and Michael Rodriguez's recollection that Randy "...tackled a field officer who entered a maintenance shed," is completely untrue. In fact, it states in the 'Ranking Document' (under the section Ranking Order Of The Texas 7) that Randy is "a quiet and submissive character." To further support Randy's reluctance to take part in any violence, he made it clear to his co-defendants that he didn't want to carry a gun during the robberies, and during his trial he testified, "I am not going to go in and carry a gun," but his co-defendants made it clear to him that it was "their way or the highway".
This article also reveals the dogmatic nature of an over-zealous prosecutor in applying the Law of Parties to those whose roles in a crime were minimal. They knew from the beginning that Randy did NOT shoot anyone, but the Law of Parties allows them to blanket everyone - from actual shooters, to look out-men who were yards from the scene - with this most unfair and unjust of laws. They boasted this fact in Randy's case, saying, "[Halprin] was convicted as a party," Assistant District Attorney Lisa Smith said. "You can get the death penalty as a party, so he didn't have to shoot the weapons to get the death penalty."
Randy did not want to participate in the Oshman's robbery, and was clearly bullied and coerced into taking part and carrying a gun, but he did NOT take part in any kind of violence on that night. Even before this article came into being, Randy has always maintained that he NEVER wanted to participate in the Oshman's robbery and stated this fact right from his first interviews when he was captured, and during his capital murder trial.
Randy's psychological evaluation records and the Ranking Document support his story, and show a clear picture of the narrative of his character. Everything is backed up by irrefutable facts, and we hope you will take some time to examine the documents under the sub-tabs in this section.