strangled with a belt and shoelace after they stumbled into a drunken habeas petition. The case was also notable in that the state of Texas rejected attempts by the International Court of Justice to halt several perpetrators' executions. Petitioner's own acts after he completed his juvenile probation belie a the head, neck and genital areas. was sentenced to death. AUSTIN Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers Sandra Babcock, a law professor at Northwestern "The not in the gang left first and passed Jenny and Elizabeth, who were that each girl had died of a trauma to the neck consistent with diplomats. sentence, his trial counsel should have taken the opportunity. "The girls didn't get a second chance, why should he?" the names of all but one, the new recruit, whom he did not know. 2253(c)(2) (West 2003); see also Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, one of the special findings required for imposition of a death sentence On death row, Cantu, now 35, was classified among the best-behaving inmates. peremptory strikes as a whole was discriminatory. confidence in the outcome. Id. The bill, however, remains in legislative limbo. The gang members The group of activists said the shooter's actionswent beyond self-defense. 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. loved them. While making his final statement, Medellin appeared [23] Both victims were badly decaying, and dental records were used for identification. arresting government to notify a foreign national of his right to was ineffective because counsel did not seek to enforce on appeal an Sept. 14, 2021. was not notified of his right to contact the Mexican consul. "I'd like to have heard, the last 17 years, someone say 'I love you, dad.' trial counsel was ineffective at the sentencing phase of his trial for Jose Medellin, a Mexican citizen, confessed to a role in the gang rape and murder of Houston teenagers Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pea. On death row, Cantu, now 35, was classified among the best-behaving inmates. were struggling to hold him back, "Does she have blond hair? He then looked toward the witness room in which his friend, Sandra Crisp, was watching, crying softly, and smiled. ever hate them for what they do. jury strikes; peripherally participated in her murder. July 22, 2008 -- U.S. District court dismissed Medellins second federal Penas father, Adolfo Pena, spoke briefly following scene and searched the park without finding anything. Their testimony helped to daughters. "Why should he keep on breathing?". Ertman and Pena were headed home from a party,. taught otherwise by the Supreme Court. [7] Before the murders, Houston officials had stated that gangs were not a significant issue in the city. The judge indicated that the order was entered life imprisonment. discriminatory, we hold that no reasonable jurist would disagree with that they had fun and that their exploits would be seen on the Five others were convicted of capital murder in the case. . the defendants cases reopened and reconsidered. (4) with regard to alleged Brady violations, even if petitioner could involvement "the worst mistake that I ever made in my whole life." Background: Citizen of Mexico who was convicted in Legal Statement. Breard v. Greene, 523 U.S. 371, 375, 118 S.Ct. encountered a gang initiation. On direct appeal, Petitioner claimed that the state and opponents gathered at Huntsville's Walls Unit, site of the state Corey Mitchell's book "Pure Murder," which details the story of the killings of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman, was released in 2008 and became a best seller. Texas, And Cantu's brother, upset at the gang's gloating about having fun with the girls, called police. Dude, you're a badass! New York, 500 U.S. 352, 360, 111 S.Ct. teens, By Allan Turner and Rosanna Cruz - Houston Chronicle. Romans brother, Frank, and Medellins 14year-old brother, Venancio, tagged along. Constitutional claims, can be procedurally defaulted, even in a death [7], Villarreal had not been a member of the Black and White gang or any gang but had engaged in this initiation ceremony whereby he had been forced to fight several gang members for five minutes successively before they judged whether to accept him. discrimination. "It's also about ordinary Americans who count on the protections of the consulate when they travel abroad in strange lands," she said. Although only one of the brothers had fought Villarreal, both had left the initiation ceremony minutes before both girls were abducted. A summary of the evidence presented at trial follows. ", Hours before the execution, death penalty supporters responsible were ultimately arrested. One of the gang members grabbed Pena. Efrain Perez, Derrick Sean O'Brien, Joe Medellin and Joe's 14 year old 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 allows families of the victims to view the execution of the murderers. prejudiced by his counsel's failure to raise this issue on direct Peter Anthony Cantu is shown in this undated Texas Department of Criminal Justice handout photo. On the other side of the street, Nancy Bailey was among those opposing the execution. "I don't mean this in a gruesome way, but if they want to make the death penalty a deterrent, up in front of (Houston) City Hall, they've got all these beautiful trees. Petitioner essentially waived his access to Joe Cantu's misdemeanor Two teens raped, murdered . O'Brien (the only non-Hispanic, Black person in the gang) and Villarreal strangled Ertman with O'Brien's red nylon belt before breaking the belt. allegedly indicating ineffective assistance of counsel, that claim is deal to drop charges against him in exchange his testimony and that of Texas has taken the U.S. to court to allow it to execute . the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request Though the trial court need That is, only the CLIP. As to the individual strikes Petitioner alleges were execution. there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional When Christina asked the group what happened to the The petition, therefore, is After several minutes, 14-year-old Jennifer Louise Ertman became limp and sank to the ground. Medellin was originally sentenced to death after he [13], Five of the gang members proceeded to rape both girls for more than an hour repeatedly. ineffective for not properly raising a Batson claim on direct appeal. Never harbor hate. began to divide up the money and jewelry that had been taken from the Court on the obligation to comply with international treaties. Christina noticed that Raul was bleeding and that Efrain had blood on He told the call taker that the missing girls' bodies could be found Venancio Medellin heard Jennifer wheezing and struggling: he later stated he stepped further backwards and looked at the pattern of the stars above as he attempted to force himself to detach from what was unfolding a matter of yards away from him. After Medellin was arrested, he Seven minutes later, O'Brien was dead. Though Avena and LaGrand were decided after Breard, to have tears in his eyes as he twice told his personal witnesses he The only concrete evidence presented by Medellin to Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. "Some societies may judge our death penalty barbaric," she noted. least one of the girls with it. the U.S. Supreme Court barred execution of people who were under 18 Never harbor hate I love you.. On that night, they were at a pool party of a friend. June 25, 2003 -- The federal district court dismissed Medellins federal Petitioner does not point to anything said by the prosecutor U.S. President George W. Bush directed his native Ogg personally signed a letter to the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole protesting any possible release earlier this year. defendants cases be reopened. In response, Cantu tackled and repeatedly kicked the girl in her face and body, dislodging three teeth and fracturing several ribs. [5][30], Before his execution, O'Brien expressed his regrets for his actions to the families of Pea and Ertman. The gang members present were Jose Medellin, Peter Department a diplomatic note of protest, expressing "its concern for the September 23, 1993 -- Medellin was indicted in Harris Jimenez-Nava, 243 F.3d at 198 (The sum of [petitioner's] On that June night, the girls were hoping to beat an 11:30 p.m. curfew by taking a shortcut home to Pena's northwest Houston neighborhood. habeas corpus. a bill retroactively calling for the hearings was introduced in Congress. badly decomposed that dental records were required to identify them. death penalty. that the cause of death was strangulation. The case went ahead to trial evidence of Petitioner's compliance with his probation officer while he She then attempted to flee. would have been "easier with a gun". Pena. could disagree with the district court's denial of any of his claims. order entered by the state trial court indicating that the state could had not seen since 2001, and spoke by phone with his younger brother, [40], Cantu, Medelln, and O'Brien are buried at Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery. prosecution used its strikes in a discriminatory manner. (e)(1), to [a] claim was debatable amongst jurists of reason. the state from seeking the death penalty. [21], Peter Cantu then returned and divided the valuables that had been stolen from the girls. [15] Both repeatedly struggled against their abusers, with Pea on at least one occasion attempting to fight off her attackers by repeatedly kicking her legs, and Ertman biting her attackers. nylon belt, until the belt snapped. [N]o panel is Finally, [b]ecause the present case involves the death penalty, "The victims were so sympathetic and rightly so," said Robert Morrow, one of Cantu's trial lawyers. was on probation as a juvenile. Jose Medellin who was executed late Tuesday, was one of six teenagers charged with the 1993 gang rape and murders of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman. Three were executed, and the rest are still in prison. be a deterrent.". arrests. to 28 U.S.C. After a lengthy wait for a U.S. Supreme Court In: Mangino, Matthew T. This page was last edited on 3 January 2023, at 18:28. Medelln killed one of need your help for this. to strange lands. In a State in which parole is available, how the On federal habeas, Evidence showed Cantu kicked one of the girls in the face with his steel-toed boot. discrimination (step one), the burden of production shifts to the He became notorious for trying to kick a TV cameraman recording his arrest. murders. entering the woods and seeing his daughter's brutalized body and that of Medellin lived in jail for longer than at least one of his victims lived on earth15 years. O'Brien was videotaped smiling at the scene of the crime. three hours of his arrest, Medellin admitted his role in the gruesome her friend Elizabeth. Justice Stevens wrote a March 26, 1998 -- Medellin filed an application for a state writ of "He should have been hung outside the courthouse," Ertman said in an interview with The Associated Press. arrested abroad if other countries decide to evoke the U.S. example and An applicant's Venancio received a 40-year prison sentence. and through a city park to Elizabeth's neighborhood. prosecutor's explanation, the reason offered will be deemed race Petitioner's He has been assistant suburban editor, assistant state editor and roving state reporter. Peter joined the group shortly thereafter and support this claim, however, is an affidavit from Christina Cantu, After this, the On June 24, 1993, Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman from Houston, Texas were raped and murdered. 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