The letter from 14 Jewish leaders, including Rabbi Menachem Katz, the Aleph Institute’s director of prison and military outreach, stated, “When we speak about hatred and anti-Semitism in our communities, we often note that one kind of discrimination or bias goes hand in hand with another. So it is unsurprising to read in Mr. Halprin’s brief that Judge Cunningham also used the most offensive language to talk about Black and Latino defendants.”

Following citations of the Torah as it pertains to enacting impartial judgements, the letter stated:

As rabbis, cantors, and lay leaders from across the spectrum of Jewish practice and belief, we stand together in our belief that our country’s justice system, and those it employs, must be free of any bias that might hinder its ability to review evidence with impartiality and treat the accused with fairness and dignity. Capital punishment is the most extreme action a government can take against a citizen. State officials must therefore take every step to ensure complete public trust in any death penalty case. How can the public trust that every decision Judge Cunningham made during Mr. Halprin’s trial was fair and free of bias, knowing the comments his friends attribute to him? How can the public even be asked to trust the system if prosecutors oppose impartial judicial review when this kind of evidence emerges?

Although not a signatory to the letter from Jewish leaders, the American Jewish Committee filed an amicus brief the stay Halprin’s execution.

“The right to an impartial judge is not only a blackletter rule of constitutional law, but also integral to the functioning of the entire Texas judicial system,” stated AJC in the brief filed in support of Halprin’s petition. The brief was signed by AJC, more than 100 Texas Jewish attorneys, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Men of Reform Judaism and the Union for Reform Judaism.

The brief also stated that “Texas law is clear that hateful and prejudicial rhetoric cannot hide behind the robe.”

“Well into the 21st century, it is beyond dispute that a trial conducted before a racist judge who boasts of his bigotry is no trial at all,” said AJC General Counsel Marc Stern. “If the allegations here are true—and they unfortunately ring true—the trial was no trial, and the verdict was no verdict, because the judge was no judge.”

Four of “The Texas Seven” have already been executed. A fifth shot himself to death before police could apprehend him.