NOTE: The original article was published Jan. 25, 2001 in The Gazette. Donald Newbury on Wednesday evening would be the third member of the “Texas 7” to be executed since they were hunted down in Colorado.

To read more about the planned execution, click here. 

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KKTV Channel 11 newsman Eric Singer stopped covering the story of the Texas Seven on Tuesday night and became part of it.     He stepped from his anchor chair into the national spotlight by helping negotiate the surrender of the last two fugitives, rapist Patrick Murphy Jr. and robber Donald Newbury.     The pair, who were holed up in the Holiday Inn at Interstate 25 and Garden of the Gods Road, promised to give up if allowed air time on CNN or KKTV. Murphy and Newbury had been following news coverage by both organizations from their hotel room.     Police, who had surrounded the Holiday Inn, agreed to the demand. Singer, KKTV news director Brian Rackham, and a photographer and technician arrived at about 10:30 p.m. after police recruited Singer as a referee.     Said Singer, 12-year anchor at KKTV: “If lives were at stake, we felt it was the appropriate thing to do. When they asked, I said, ‘Of course.'”     Police negotiators, who were in contact with Murphy and Newbury by phone, set the ground rules. Each fugitive would get five minutes on the air. Police told Singer to avoid any reference to violence, including the shooting death of an Irving, Texas, police officer on Christmas Eve. The negotiators wanted to keep Murphy and Newbury calm.     “I knew who I was dealing with, and I knew what was at stake,” Singer said. “I didn’t want in any shape and form to jeopardize the situation.”     Shortly after 3:30 a.m., Murphy and Newbury made their statements, complaining bitterly about the Texas justice system. Murphy finished early, allowing Singer to ask a few questions about why the Texas Seven landed in Colorado (it was a random choice) and what they did after arriving here.     After Newbury wrapped up, he and Murphy kept their part of the deal. They left the phone off the hook, took off their shirts so they couldn’t hide weapons, and walked into the hands of police, who were waiting in the hallway outside their room.     Singer’s role upped his celebrity status. Debi Merrill, a guest at the hotel from Tennessee, called Singer “courageous” and asked for his autograph.     For much of the day Wednesday, Singer was giving interviews to the local, state and national media.     KKTV’s competitors questioned the wisdom of thrusting an anchorperson into a news story. Rackham, with KKTV for four years, isn’t surprised.     “I’m sure there’s going to be as much a downside as an upside,” he said. “I’m very proud of the way Eric stayed calm. I know some people will say we’ve been used. I don’t feel that is the case.”     Said Singer: “My job at that moment was to make sure to facilitate the terms of the deal.”     Transcript of Eric Singer’s interview with Texas prison escapees Patrick Murphy and Donald Newbury     Excerpts from transcripts of the five-minute statements made by two Texas prison escapees on KKTV Channel 11 early Wednesday and the conversation between KKTV-TV anchor Eric Singer and the escapees before they surrendered to police at the Holiday Inn Garden of the Gods:     PATRICK MURPHY JR. EXCHANGE     Murphy: “Why would men like myself decide to do what they have done here? … The people probably don’t realize that after 17 years of incarceration that I was actually up for parole when I made the decision to join in this escape.     “What would force me to do this was the penal institution. … The way Texas has things set up is that I felt that my life on the outside … I would eventually become an outlaw again anyway because parole stipulations and such.     “I felt that, uh, by trying to make this statement maybe we could make more people aware that there is a definite wrong within the penal system of the state of Texas. … We would hope that … maybe what we’re doing here would open the eyes of the people.     Singer: “How did the Texas Seven decide on Colorado?”     Murphy: “Colorado was just a random pick. We had to drive out of the Texas … snowstorm that hit right at Christmas Eve in the Amarillo area and we had to drive through the blizzard for hours. And, literally, Colorado was just a random pick.     “Our first stop was the Pueblo area (then) we went straight to Woodland Park.”     Singer: “When you were in Woodland Park … how did you blend in?”     Murphy: (Laughs.) “We joked about it often. We really, just by downplaying ourselves and changing our hair color and such.”     Singer: “What exactly was your day-to-day (life) like?”     Murphy: “Day to day life was, we tried to remain as calm as possible at all times but vigilant and it would be difficult to get into that right now.”     Singer: “We had talked to several people in the Woodland Park area and they had said they had seen many of you out in the community…”     Murphy: “Yes, we attempted to be as friendly and neighborly as we could. As far as the Christian meetings, that was only one man and he was the man who committed suicide. That was part of the cover, I guess you could say. He was trying to pass us off as like a church work group traveling around.     “The things that we did we just played by ear day to day.     Singer: “You talked about dyeing your hair … what color is your hair now?”     Murphy: “I guess it’s kind of a blondish red with very dark roots because my hair is growing out fast.”     Murphy: “I want to say thank you very much. The authorities here have been very professional in our dealings and hopefully, like I said, maybe this will open … some people’s eyes that the penal system does have some problems within it.”     DONALD NEWBURY EXCHANGE     Newbury: “The way I see it, I had to make a statement. The judicial system in the state of Texas has really gone to the pits. We’re receiving 99 years for a robbery for $68 and nobody’s injured. …     “I’ve done crime, you know, you gotta face the music. But there’s got to be something within reason in the state of Texas.     “They’re giving kids so much time that they will never get to see light again. Their life is gone. Now all they are is a roach in a cage. Things have to be changed. There has to be more rehabilitation in the system down there.”     Newbury: “The whole thing from the beginning, from our self-extraction from the unit – that was done very peacefully as possible. We hurt the officers very little, only the ones that resisted.     It could have been a blood bath. We could have been out of there in 30 minutes instead of 21/2 hours. We took time to take these people and do it gently instead of 30 minutes.”     Newbury: “The system needs to be checked, it needs to be rebuilt or reconstructed. I’m not saying do away with it or nothing else. I am just saying make something that will work. The Texas system is not working.     “I had to threaten to … beat my attorney up so I could get another attorney because my first attorney spent three months and hadn’t even come talk to me. What kind of judicial system gives you a defense that won’t even show up?”     Newbury: “The system is as corrupt as we are. You going to do something about us, well, do something about that system, too. It’s going to take the public and a lot of screaming and hollering.     Newbury: “The reason I’m stepping out these doors tonight is not from fear because I’ve been set for the last 40 days to die.     “I’m stepping out of these doors with the sole purpose of honoring the person I love and to keep my voice in the media. … We’re going to keep screaming. We’re going to start trying to get something changed.”

Eric Singer