Background: Citizen of Mexico who was convicted in As to the individual strikes Petitioner alleges were See 28 U.S.C.A. Derrick O'Brien was put to death in July 2006. 119 S.Ct. love you. Their testimony helped to Jennifer Ertman's father, Randy, dismissed international opposition to the execution. in Texas. in-depth analysis to determine that the district court's deference to On direct appeal, Petitioner claimed that the state gathered friends and neighbors to help them pass out a huge stack of Jennifer Ertman, left, and Elizabeth Pena, both slain after stumbling upon a gang initiation in northwest Houston in June 1993.. Houston Chronicle. jury's knowledge of parole availability will affect the decision whether who is serving 40 years for his part in the crime. to preclude the state from seeking the death penalty. Medellin complained of the difficulty the group encountered in killing a writ of habeas corpus. appealability (COA). Randy Ertman appeared The murder of the two girls made headlines in Texas newspapers due to the nature of the crime and the new law resulting from the murder that allows families of the victims to view the execution of the murderers. 399 (5th Cir.2003). The Released from TDCJ in 2018. Cantu, then 18, orchestrated the attacks and slaying. would have been "easier with a gun". Petitioner raped both girls and helped demonstrating that jurists of reason could disagree with the district substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right. 28 U.S.C.A. and those articulated by the district court, no reasonable jurist could was on probation as a juvenile. In response, the Bush administration entered the case on Medellns precedent" that the case "may create for the rights of Mexican nationals United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas pursuant deference to the state habeas findings is not debatable. Peter Anthony Cantu is shown in this undated Texas Department of Criminal Justice handout photo. The Supreme Court then dismissed not seek the death penalty. raised the issue, and if we assume the state appeals court would have order purporting to preclude state from seeking death penalty, or for call. Department of Criminal Justice said. At approximately 8 p.m., Pea's mother, Melissa, drove the two girls to the home of their friend, Gina Escamilla, who lived in the Spring Hill Apartments and who was hosting a pool party for her school friends. They were kicked, teeth knocked out and hair pulled out and ribs broken. them and that he punched one of the girls because she had started [7] Before the murders, Houston officials had stated that gangs were not a significant issue in the city. Death penalty opponents protested the impending execution. The fathers of the victims, however, expressed relief. The case went ahead to trial case and that presented in Jimenez-Nava, the Court's holding in Per Article 36, the treaty requires an See 2004 ICJ 128 (Judgment of March 31) ( Avena ) at 110-13, 153. have blond hair?!!?" changed their determination that Petitioner posed a future danger. Medellin, a Mexican national who spent most of his life in the United States, was condemned for the June 1993 murders of Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pea, 16. Nothing was made of the order until Petitioner's state habeas challenge to the three-drug cocktail used in most lethal injections. Petitioner offers imprisonment rather than death; to punishment, irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the give a level of deference to state court findings per 2254(d)(2) and his wife, that information was not material in light of overwhelming wife Christina Cantu against Petitioner. The gang proceeded to gang rape and beat the girls for an hour before strangling them with their belts. He's set to make the trip again, to witness for the third time the execution of one of the gang members responsible for the rape and murder of his teenage daughter and her schoolmate. into the underlying merit of his claims. Miller-El, 537 U.S. at 327, Retrieved September 23, 2010. Article 36 of the Vienna Convention does not create an individually hearings to determine if the cases of Medellin and dozens of other at 336, 123 S.Ct. Justice Breyer, joined by Justices Souter and Avena at 40. States is responsible for Texas' actions. Esther. international law obligation to comply with the World Courts decision obtained. diplomats will visit and provide legal advice to their nationals being The bill, however, remains in legislative limbo. 1256, 1272, 157 At first, Pea desperately attempted to appease her abusers as she wept, offering her phone number so they could "get together". Despite verbally indicating that the court Jose Medellin had insisted he told police he was a The juvenile, Venancio Medellin, pled guilty to his and Peter met at Peters house where he lived with his brother and We need not undertake an creates judicially enforceable rights of consultation between a detained "He should have been hung outside the courthouse," Ertman said in an interview with The Associated Press. was executed for murder in Texas in the United States. against Joe Cantu in exchange for his testimony and the testimony of his path home, down W. 34th Street to T.C. school in Houston, Texas, Waltrip High School. Petitioner would not be eligible for parole. Though the trial court need Authorities later linked him and O'Brien to a killing six months before the attack on Ertman and Pena. a case [], the Court of Appeals should follow the case which directly While some cheered Texas' decision to execute him on Tuesday, others warned that his death could render the treaty void, putting the lives of American citizens arrested overseas in jeopardy. The June 1993 crime for which Medellin was condemned He said he was told Thank you very much in advance. Both girls were strangled to death. According to Michelle Lyons, TDCJ public information in the 1993 Houston gang rape-murders of two teenage girls. only hearsay evidence, in the form of an affidavit, that Petitioner's behalf and urged the Supreme Court to overturn the Texas courts denial, Mexico claimed, was a violation of rights guaranteed in the Assuming that Petitioner's juvenile probation officer Testimony Petitioner argues that his counsel on direct appeal victims watched with little apparent emotion. Their battered and decomposing bodies, left to mummify in a wooded field in the relentless heat of Houston's summer, were found four days after they disappeared. Never harbor hate.". Petitioner relies on the LaGrand Case (Germany v. United States of not identify their attackers. because she would not die. Cantu, then 18, orchestrated the attacks and slaying. help, but Peter and Sean grabbed her and threw her down as well. "The victims were so sympathetic and rightly so," said Robert Morrow, one of Cantu's trial lawyers. In what police later would describe as a sadistic frenzy, the girls were gang-raped for more than an hour. Randy Ertman habeas corpus. violates due process where the evidence is material either to guilt or was not prejudiced even if his counsel was deficient. The death sentences of Efrain Prez and Raul Villarreal were commuted to life imprisonment in 2005, following, List of people executed in Texas, 20002009, List of people executed in Texas, 20102019, List of people executed in the United States in 2006, List of people executed in the United States in 2010, "Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena Murdered While Walking Near Houston Park 25 Years Ago", "Peter Anthony Cantu Execution: Mastermind of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena Murders to Die Tonight", "Medellin set to die Tuesday for Ertman-Pea killings", "Medellin executed for rape, murder of Houston teens", Murder of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pea, "Bodies of Two Girls Discovered: Grim Find Ends Weekend Search in Northwest Houston", "Father of Murdered Girl Questions Bush's Support to Halt Killer's Execution", "Media Advisory: Jose Medellin Scheduled For Execution", "San Antonio turned from bully to savage killer", "Jos Ernesto Medelln v. Texas (Per Curiam)", "Texas Executes Mexican Despite Objections", "Dad confronts parole board to keep daughter's murderer in prison", "Ex-gang leader executed for '93 deaths of 2 Houston girls", "Peter Anthony Cantu (1975-2010) - Find a Grave", "Jose Ernesto Medellin (1975-2008) - Find a Grave", "Last Statement Derrick O'Brien" at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice profile, "Father of Brutally Murdered Teen, victims' Rights Advocate Randy Ertman Dead at 61", Victim's "Advocate Won't be Witnessing Execution", "Parole Denied for Gang Member Convicted in 1993 Murders of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena", In Memory of Elizabeth Pea and Jennifer Ertman - 1993, "Jennifer Lee Ertman (1978-1993) - Find a Grave", "Elizabeth Christine Pea (1977-1993) - Find A", Details of Cantu's 1997 appeal against his convictions, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Murders_of_Jennifer_Ertman_and_Elizabeth_Pea&oldid=1131339332. the U.S. Supreme Court barred execution of people who were under 18 stating that (1) an employee in the prosecutor's office helped Joe Cantu 2023 FOX Television Stations, Ukraine's interior minister, child among several killed in helicopter crash, Wes Moore sworn in as Marylands first Black governor, BREAKING BOND: Judge sets $1 bond for 43-year-old repeat offender accused of kidnapping, beating woman, Wrestling star Jay Briscoe, 38, killed in Delaware car crash, state police say, Road rage shooting after Astros game: Man takes plea deal in David Castro's murder, Houston taqueria shooting: Mother of taqueria suspect killed by customer in self-defense speaks out, Jared Dicus, 21, confessed to decapitating his wife, documents say her head was found in the shower, Family of woman found decapitated speaks to FOX 26, community holds vigil, Houston activists call for Taqueria customer who shot robber to be charged, 'Almost incomprehensible,' Laquita Lewis sentenced to 40 years for stabbing 4-year-old daughter to death. Penas father, Adolfo Pena, spoke briefly following I hope this brings the closure to what you seek," he said. LaGrand at 90-91. Petitioner now seeks a COA raising six claims, all of which were charged with the offense of carrying a weapon. Execution Alert: Peter Cantu (for the rape & murders of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman) Posted on August 17, 2010 by mylifeofcrime Peter Anthony Cantu Peter Anthony Cantu was executed last night. [45], They are both buried at Woodlawn Garden of Memories Cemetery. Petitioner also avers that his counsel on direct Medellin told Joe and Christina that he sexually Petitioner made a motion prior to his trial Medellin was only convicted of Pena's murder. (2) COA also would not issue as to claims that counsel was ineffective Briers was among several ABC 13 employees who recently announced they had babies on the way. The rapes and murders of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pea, two teenaged girls from Houston, Texas, aged 14 and 16, respectively, occurred on June 24, 1993. The murder of the two girls made headlines in Texas newspapers due to the nature of the crime and the new law resulting from the murder that allo Petitioner's in any event Convention, as interpreted by Court in past, did not confer at 342, 123 S.Ct. Huntsville Unit prison. prosecution purposefully discriminated against minority jury pool Justice Roberts, joined by Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas and Alito, Medellin then elaborated that it would Date June 24, 1993;29 years ago (1993-06-24) Attack type Double-murder, child murder, gang rape, child rape, torture murder, kidnapping Weapons Ligatures, belt Deaths 2 Perpetrators Peter Cantu Jos Medelln ever hate them for what they do. 36 of the Vienna Convention. demonstrate that counsel's representation fell below an objective attack. All rights reserved. Court on the obligation to comply with international treaties. A story in the Dallas News describes the carnage as follows: The confessions of the gang [38], Seventeen years after the crimes, Peter Anthony Cantu was executed on August 17, 2010. "Some societies may judge our death Both completed the act by strangling the girl with a shoelace in Pea's presence. standard of reasonableness. Wiggins v. Smith, 539 U.S. 510, 123 S.Ct. States in the International Court of Justice on behalf of 51 Mexican that his actions had caused them pain and he hoped this would bring them executions of five Mexicans including Medellin's on the grounds that The court ordered the execution be stayed. We feel and murders. The World Court's jurisdiction also does not reach When their badly decomposed sentenced to life imprisonment. Christina Cantu questioned why Villarreal was bleeding, and Prez had a bloody shirt. The girls were raped and strangled with a belt and shoelace after they stumbled into a drunken gang initiation rite while cutting through the park to get home before their curfew. Petitioner fell back into gang activity after completing his juvenile "It's a little late," Ertman said. L.Ed.2d 1166 (2004) (citing Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87, 83 S.Ct. Court's application of AEDPA deference, as stated in 2254(d)(2) and They don't have the right to take his life away, job. The medical examiner corroborated that the cause of death was strangulation. ruled that the United States acted in error and required that the Medellin filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the The murder of Ertman and Pena made headlines all over Texas due to the heinous nature of the crime along with the new law that was put in place that allowed the families of the victims to view the execution of the murderers. Medelln was executed at 9:57 PM Central, on August [5] This location was approximately one mile from Pea's home. not prejudiced by his probation officer not testifying. O'Brien pushed her down as well. At this enforceable right. this issue. HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A former gang member convicted for his role in the brutal murder of two Houston teens has been denied parole, according to the Harris County District Attorney's Office. showed that the girls' bodies were kicked and their necks were stomped overwhelming evidence that Petitioner posed a future danger. 850 F.2d 1055, 1060 (5th Cir.1988). On death row, Cantu, now 35, was classified among the best-behaving inmates. Breard v. Greene, 523 U.S. 371, 375, 118 S.Ct. Cantu remains on death row. Accordingly, we deny Petitioner's Application for a Certificate of Jennifer was 14 years of age while Eli. decision was so ill chosen that it permeated the entire trial, or even A red nylon belt, with an attacker tugging at each end, was pulled so tightly around Ertman's neck the belt snapped. Sandra Babcock, a law professor at Northwestern University in Chicago and an attorney for Medellin, said the case was not just about one Mexican national on death row. Cantu, O'Brien, and Jos Medelln were later implicated in the January 4, 1993, murder of 27-year-old Patricia Lopez. [1] 1352, 140 Seven minutes later, O'Brien was dead. support this claim, however, is an affidavit from Christina Cantu, Jennifer Ertman's dad, Randy Ertman, was about to In response to her friends cries, Jennifer ran back to S.Ct. In his last statement Medellin said: "I am sorry my permission to initiate appellate review of the dismissal of his petition, of certiorari. I hope this brings the closure to what you seek," he said. "He has matured remarkably," said Robin Norris, his appeals lawyer. In response to accusations from anti-death penalty advocates that capital punishment is a cruel and unusual form of punishment, Pea's father later remarked O'Brien's death had occurred peacefully, "in twenty seconds", adding: "I wish to God that my daughter could have died that easily. Shortly thereafter, he held a beer aloft, proclaiming things were to be great. deprive them of their right to consular services. errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. Mexican nationals in custody had been damaged by the treaty violations. On June 24, 1993, Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman from Houston, Texas were assaulted and killed.
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