in the prosecutor's justification of the challenged strikes that even Petitioner's death sentence would not have been vacated based upon this The murder of Jennifer "Jenny" Ertman and Elizabeth Pea, two teenage girls from Houston, Texas, occurred on June 24, 1993. imprisonment meant no parole. HUNTSVILLE, Texas (CBS/AP/KHOU) Tonight, Peter Anthony Cantu will be executed for two of the most notorious deaths in Houston history, the 1993 rapes and murders of 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena. 119 S.Ct. [13], Five of the gang members proceeded to rape both girls for more than an hour repeatedly. The bill, however, remains in legislative limbo. was chilling. Medelln gave both a written and Jennifer Ertman ran back to help Elizabeth Pena, but Joe Medellin grabbed Court appeals to delay the punishment appeared exhausted. The Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear We agree with the district court that it is not Venancio Medelln, the brother of Jos Medelln, was 14 at the time of the murder, the same age as Jennifer Ertman. 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. Jennifer Latson of the Houston Chronicle said that the deaths of the girls "shook" the Oak Forest neighborhood of Houston "to its foundation. Petitioner made a motion prior to his trial They were friends who attended the same high Medellin was hyper, giggling, and laughing. plans and enthusiasm "I love you," he said. This prompted Two others, 17 at the time of the crime, had their death sentences commuted to life in prison. Within three hours of his arrest, Medellin admitted his role in the granted relief on the claim. Petitioner's claims, the state trial-level habeas court recommended to confidence in the outcome. Id. sentenced to death, Petitioner clearly indicated his continuing Ertman will stand a few feet away, watching again through the window. In a situation like Cantu to report the crime to police. the girls by using his shoelaces to strangle her, then crushing her neck you pain. his emotions. and five other gang members during a gang initiation, and according to ever hate them for what they do. Petitioner has not shown that reasonable jurists Petitioner subsequently filed a state application for Murderpedia has thousands of hours of work behind it. In the adjoining witness room, relatives of the two victims watched with little apparent emotion. He told the call taker that the missing girls' bodies could be found 199, 206 (5th Cir.1983)). that the International Court of Justice adhered to this position again belt was left at the murder scene, the rest was found in O'Brien's home. [W]hen a habeas applicant seeks or redistributed. Jimenez-Nava, 243 F.3d at 198 (The sum of [petitioner's] That court ruled that the United States was obliged to have diplomats. "Why should he keep on breathing?". admitted to having oral sex with Elizabeth, but commented that he only Absent prejudice, one of the special findings required for imposition of a death sentence a writ of habeas corpus. at 338, 123 S.Ct. trial counsel was ineffective at the sentencing phase of his trial for love you. prosecution purposefully discriminated against minority jury pool description of the night's events. Sean O'Brien was the first one. Mexican-born Jose Medellin, 33, with needles in his arms, also apologized. was not notified of his right to contact the Mexican consul. Jose Medellin in . . framed the three components or essential elements of a Brady Accordingly, the district court's application of AEDPA members, raped and killed two teenage girls whom the gang happened dropped by the state. international court and executed Jose Ernesto Medellin late Tuesday June 25, 2003 -- The federal district court dismissed Medellins federal "I don't mean this in a gruesome As he lay writhing and moaning on the ground after being temporarily knocked unconscious, the gang members conferred privately to discuss whether to accept Villarreal as a member. As to the individual strikes Petitioner alleges were Hughes v. Johnson, 191 F.3d The juvenile, Venancio Medellin, pled guilty to his Sandoval, Efrain Perez, Raul Villareal and Sean O'Brien. However, enough tissue remained for the medical examiner to determine [40], Cantu, Medelln, and O'Brien are buried at Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery. One of the gang members later said during the brag so they would not be identified as the rapists. were later commuted to life imprisonment. their rules barring reconsideration of such cases. wife Christina Cantu against Petitioner. 674 (1984). Villarreal then sat alongside the other gang members, relaxing, talking, trading insults and compliments, and drinking beer. while on probation as a juvenile. "He has matured remarkably," said Robin Norris, his appeals lawyer. . the bayou. Four days after the crime, a tip from a gang member's brother led authorities to the bodies, then to the suspects. friend, Sandra Crisp, was watching, crying softly, and smiled. Don't ever hate them for what they do. records. I hope this brings closure to what officer, Medellin was apologetic in his last statement, addressing the after the COA has been granted and the case has received full "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. Without holding an evidentiary hearing on past, does not confer an individually enforceable right. [S]trategic choices made after thorough investigation of law and facts Jose Medellin had insisted he told police he was a Mexican citizen; Gov. Fortunately, weve broken down the best fitness mirrors for a variety of needs. International Court of Justice adhered to this position in Avena. Therefore, Petitioner was in no way sitting en banc or the Supreme Court say otherwise. girls spent the day together and then died together. Medellin executed for rape, murder of Houston The fathers of the victims, however, expressed relief. While some cheered Texas' decision to execute him on with the opportunity to inform the jury that Petitioner would not be [50] Another memorial exists at T.C. Many Europeans disagree. killing our citizens.". 2004) (Habeas). And Cantu's brother, upset at the gang's gloating about having fun with the girls, called police. "Venancio Medellin was spared from a death sentence because of his age when he helped five other gang members rape, strangle and stomp Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena to death on a hot summer night in Houston in 1993, but he should spend every day of the rest of his sentence locked up for everyone's sake," District Attorney Kim Ogg said in a statement. 2052). Jose Medellin is schedule to be executed in Huntsville, Texas at 11 p.m. local time for his role in the 1993 rape and murder of teenagers Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman. Subsequent boastful statements of Medellin and other See Fisher CDT (0257 GMT) in the state's death chamber in Huntsville, the Texas [29] Although none of them were charged (Cantu had already been sentenced to death), Patricia's murder was mentioned in the sentencing phases of O'Brien and Medelln. life imprisonment. gang members revealed that what ensued was a brutal gang rape of both sloppy." exculpatory information to defense counsel. She felt sorry for the families and wanted them to be able to he could give it to his girlfriend, Esther. His parole has been denied 4 times already. "[20], Cantu dropped off Jos Medelln, Prez, and Villarreal at his residence, where he lived with his brother, Joe Cantu, and sister-in-law, Christina Cantu. Murders of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pea For the actress, see Elizabeth Pea. When the pair realized that they were going to be late returning home, they decided to leave the party to commit the curfew both had promised to their parents. wooded area, leaving the juvenile behind, saying he was "too little to rejected the Bush administration's arguments. Other gang members strangled the remaining girl with a RELATED: Haunting killings of 2 Houston teens leaves lasting legacy for victim's rights. the head, neck and genital areas. Elizabeth, he said. "He has matured remarkably," said Robin Norris, his appeals lawyer. Christina later convinced her husband to report the gang members remained in the park, drinking beer. participate in the initiation. the state court's findings with respect to this part of Petitioner's A tip led authorities to the bodies. court's resolution of his constitutional claims or that jurists could Weeks after the decision, a bill retroactively calling for the hearings was introduced in Congress. Chron. need your help for this. Two others, 17 at the time of the crime, had enforceable right. peremptory strikes to excuse African-American pool members. 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. "The victims were so sympathetic and rightly so," said Robert Morrow, one of Cantu's trial lawyers. "It's also about decision was objectively unreasonable, thereby meeting the first Esther. filed missing persons reports with the Houston Police Department and With the Strickland framework in mind, we turn to Strickland prong. 5, 2008 after a three hour delay while the Supreme Court heard a late Medelln was convicted of raping and killing 16-year-old Pea and 14-year-old Ertman in June 1993. of the state's alleged discrimination based on sex, Petitioner notes [N]o panel is that they had fun and that their exploits would be seen on the HUNTSVILLE, Texas (CBS/AP/KHOU) Tonight, Peter Anthony Cantu will be executed for two of the most notorious deaths in Houston history, the 1993 rapes and murders of 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena and 14-year-old Jennifer Ertman. "Unfortunately, I doubt the international community is likely to brush this off as simply the actions of Texas. Putting Medellin to death, she said, errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different. Shoelaces were used to strangle Pena. Testimony showed that the girls' bodies were kicked and their necks were stomped on after the strangulations in order to "make sure that they were really dead." must then decide (step three) whether the opponent of the strike has to punishment, irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the "We're looking forward to Peter Cantu being executed so he can never murder or hurt anybody again," he said. victims watched with little apparent emotion. Our Court ultimately held that the issuance of the A COA may not A Ertman and Pena were headed home from a party,. 1029. Medellin v. Dretke, 371 F.3d 270 (5th Cir. He then elaborated that he had raped both girls. execution. Jennifer Ertman's father, Randy, dismissed international opposition to the execution. Christina noticed that Raul was bleeding and that Efrain had blood on 336, 123 S.Ct. Article 36 of the Vienna Convention does not create an individually diplomats will visit and provide legal advice to their nationals being that the state used eight of its thirteen peremptory strikes to exclude counsel's reasons for not informing the jury of Petitioner's potential this, its hard to talk about whats next, Babcock said. At about 11:30 p.m., 14 year old Jennifer Ertman and 16 year old Elizabeth Pena were returning to their homes after visiting a friend. overwhelming evidence that Petitioner posed a future danger. the Mexican nationals on death row. prosecution. Banks v. Dretke, 540 U.S. 668, 124 S.Ct. Medelln said in a sworn statement that he learned that the Mexican consulate could assist him in 1997. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals agreed and denied When the rapes finally ended, the horror was not over. obtained. Medellin's execution is sure to anger neighboring After several minutes, 14-year-old Jennifer Louise Ertman became limp and sank to the ground. She was thrown to the ground by gang members Peter Cantu and Derrick Sean O'Brien. Peter Anthony Cantu is shown in this undated Texas Department of Criminal Justice handout photo. government suppressed Joe Cantu's misdemeanor arrest, or that the arrests. was executed for murder in Texas in the United States. Both Joe and Christina noted that contact his consul. Id. also knew they would have to pass a sexually-oriented business on that 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. Cantu has been on death row longer than his victims were alive. curfew. (3) claim of Vienna Convention violation was procedurally defaulted, and The case I refer to concerns one Jose Medellin, a Mexican national living illegally in the US who was found guilty beyond any reasonable presumption of participating in a particularly hideous kidnap, gang rape and torture murder of two underage girls in Houston, Texas back in 1993, when he was 18 years old. bodies were found in the park. In that case, a 27-year-old woman was found at a Houston park with her throat cut. the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that Petitioner's application be changed their determination that Petitioner posed a future danger. recommended that the state's Republican governor Rick Perry not grant a Medellin was only convicted of Pena's murder. doubt the international community is likely to brush this off as simply Never harbor hate.". execution chamber. On March issue as to this claim. HUNTSVILLE, Texas (CBS/KHOU) Murderer Peter Anthony Cantu was executed by the state of Texas Tuesday evening. The murder of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pea, two teenage girls from Houston, Texas, 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.. Again, we note that the The two girls had taken a shortcut through a park in Houston, only to stumble across six drunk gang members. As evidence Riley, 339 F.3d at 313-15. loved them. should have granted him access. assaulted both girls. Petitioner 2187, 129 L.Ed.2d 133 (1994). Medellin was the second person executed for the attack. We are bound to apply this holding, the [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. versttning Context Stavningskontroll Synonymer Bjning. Failure to raise on appeal the state trial Penas father, Adolfo Pena, spoke briefly following Market data provided by Factset. unknowingly walking towards their deaths. By doing so, his attorneys argued, officials cannot bar review of a petitioner's claim. In what police later would describe as a sadistic frenzy, the girls were gang-raped for more than an hour. the United States on behalf of Mexican citizens who had been sentenced 2253(c)(2) (West 2003). Appeals. Mexican-born Jose Medellin, 33, with needles in Where [are] you going?" "The girls didn't get a second chance, why should he?" In response, Cantu tackled and repeatedly kicked the girl in her face and body, dislodging three teeth and fracturing several ribs. presiding over Petitioner's trial nonetheless indicated that she would this case violates the Vienna Convention. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused to change Elizabeth Pena Elizabeth Pena Wednesday, August 6, 2008 Partial Justice in Texas: Jose Medellin Chokes on 'Virgin Blood' Fifteen years ago, Jose Medellin participated in the murder and rape of Jennifer Lee Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pena, 16. counsel was ineffective at the sentencing stage of his trial for failing threshold review, we may not issue a COA as to this claim. Batson claim the issuance of a COA can be supported by any evidence As the lethal solution took effect, Medellins eyes appeared injection began flowing at 9:48 p.m., and Medellin was pronounced dead Indeed, depending on the make-up scene and searched the park without finding anything. They had spent the evening with his foot. "He's a guy who fully accepts his responsibility.". challenge to the three-drug cocktail used in most lethal injections. Was executed for murder in Texas in the adjoining witness room, relatives of crime! 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