Because he provided no evidence of constitutional overstepping by the police, both of Cantu's full statements came before the jury. I need not go further. I saw hardened, lifelong cops get tears in their eyes when talking about the scene more than a year later. 1995); Allridge v. Scott, 41 F.3d 213, 222 (5th Cir. 1) You are a coward with regard to Mexico. CODE CRIM. Hiding. Neal v. Cain, 141 F.3d 207, 214 (5th Cir. Still, the Court's task is not to substitute its judgment for that of the Texas state courts. Cantu later gave Venancio Medellin a watch that belonged to Ms. Ertman. As compelling a case as the facts present, the application of the law to these facts necessarily causes misgivings even to the most ardent proponents of the death penalty. "The benchmark for judging any claim of ineffectiveness must be whether counsel's conduct so undermined the proper functioning of the adversarial process that the trial cannot be relied on as having produced a just result." The state courts were not unreasonable in finding that Cantu did not meet Strickland's prejudice prong. might . "Failure to make the required showing of either deficient performance or sufficient prejudice defeats the ineffectiveness claim." Jester Park in Houston, Texas on the night of June 24, 1993, when they encountered six members of the Black and White gang. Respondent has moved for summary judgment. 28 at 786-87. Both girls were strangled to death. Corey Mitchell's book "Pure Murder," which details the Cantu, 939 S.W.2d at 632; State Habeas Record at 257. Nearby, Mary had just rented a new house but the problem was that dang alarm. The trial court held a suppression hearing. FED. Tr. I wondered that too. "Sau mt thi gian 2 thng s dng sn phm th mnh thy da ca mnh chuyn bin r rt nht l nhng np nhn C Nguyn Th Thy Hngchia s: "Beta Glucan, mnh thy n ging nh l ng hnh, n cho mnh c ci trong n ung ci Ch Trn Vn Tnchia s: "a con gi ca ti n ln mng coi, n pht hin thuc Beta Glucan l ti bt u ung Trn Vn Vinh: "Ti ung thuc ny ti cm thy rt tt. 23 at 699-700. Witnesses described Peter Cantu as absolutely unremorseful about his prominent role in the soul-sickening crime. The rapes and murders of Jennifer Lee Ertman and Elizabeth Christine Pea, two teenage 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 Rather, there must be some evidence directly germane to a lesser-included offense for the factfinder to consider before an instruction on a lesser-included offense is warranted." to Ertman. Having reviewed the record, the pleadings, and the law particularly the operation of the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act's ("AEDPA") deferential standards the Court concludes that Cantu is not entitled to habeas corpus relief. Vol. Tr. She then attempted to flee. These scum deserve to be treated as they treated those young girls. Prior to his execution, O'Brien expressed his regrets for his actions to the families of Pea and Ertman. The state habeas court concluded that the allegedly inflammatory statements were not made in error because they "properly summarized the evidence of the circumstances of the offense, made a reasonable inference that the jury would likely never forget those images, and properly presented a plea for law enforcement by urging the jury to `think about the two children in here that all you got left of them is right here.'" at 369. Vol. Jennifer tried her hand at basketball before concluding she wasn't cut out for athletics. June 25, 2003); Villareal v. Cockrell, No. The AEDPA gives statutory effect to traditional limits on habeas review. why don't you also think in terms of maybe what these girls were thinking about, what their hopes and dreams were, what their wishes were[.] (Doc. at 328 (quoting Woodson, 428 U.S. at 305). The 2008 He extended his violent acts into the prison setting. The Jurek Court recognized that, while the then-existent Texas capital sentencing statute did not directly address a defendant's mitigating evidence, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals interpreted the statute in a way that let a jury consider mitigating circumstances. Aside from the above-mentioned gang members, Roman Sandoval, Frank Sandoval, and Venancio Medellin were also present at the gang initiation. Vol. Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808, 825 (1991). SIGN UP FOR FOX 26 HOUSTON EMAIL ALERTS 1992) (applying Beck when "a trial judge refuses to give an instruction which is available under state law"). June 25, 1994: Family and friends of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena gather at T.C. Cantu said the girls "had to die [so] they couldn't identify them." 1999)). While the prosecutor's comments were undeniably harsh, and this Court likely would not have allowed them, the state habeas court was not unreasonable in finding that they did not render the trial fundamentally unfair, particularly since the reference was brief and in response to the defense's closing argument. Cantu's second statement fully harmonized with trial testimony. "In order to ensure `reliability in the determination that death is the appropriate punishment in a specific case,'" Penry I held that "the jury must be able to consider and give effect to any mitigating evidence relevant to a defendant's background and character or the circumstances of the crime." Importantly, the state courts did not unreasonably find a lack of Strickland prejudice. For that reason, the Simmons Court stated that it will "not lightly second-guess a decision whether or not to inform a jury of information regarding parole." 42.18 8(b)(2) (1991). Cantu read and signed the second statement, again in the presence of two other officers. The prosecution supported this testimony with photographs (SX 48, 50-57) and a videotape (SX 49) depicting the crime scene and the victims' bodies. The state habeas court held that Cantu "fail[ed] to show that the admission of such autopsy and crime scene photos and crime scene video violated his due process rights[.]" In response, Medelln stated: "No, baby! Under the Strickland standard, a criminal defendant's Sixth Amendment rights are "denied when a defense attorney's performance falls below an objective standard of reasonableness and thereby prejudices the defense." 22 at 410, 418-19, 440. Tr. 1999) ("Relief based on Simmons is foreclosed by Teague."). Here, this inquiry focuses not only on the inflammatory nature of the images but on their importance at trial. The gang members said that both girls were "killed the same way . I can only hope that Pres. The Fifth Circuit first noted that the jury instruction allowed full consideration of the mitigating evidence and otherwise complied with constitutional requirements. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 686 (1984). In support of this claim, Cantu notes that he gave two statements to the police. I imagine these sick fucks were all quite proud to share the details. 21 at 320-21, Vol. art. No mercy for the bastard. 2006); Thacker, 396 F.3d at 617; Rudd, 256 F.3d at 320-21; and the Equal Protection Clause, Tigner, 264 F.3d at 525-26; Collier, 300 F.3d at 585-86; Green v. Johnson, 160 F.3d 1029, 1044 (5th Cir. He was frustrated that he had been the one who was unable to fight Raul. Oliver v. Quarterman, 254 F. App'x 381, 387 (5th Cir. Five members of the Black and White gang Cantu, Jose Medellin, Derrick Sean O'Brien, Efrian Perez, and Raul Villareal received death sentences for their role in the rape and murder of fourteen-year-old Jennifer Ertman and sixteen-year-old Elizabeth Pena. 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. Having a teenage daughter myself reading this was so painful. Tr. Jennifer Latson of the Houston Chronicle said that the deaths of the girls "shook" the Oak Forest neighborhood of Houston "to its foundation.". WebThe Ertmans and Penas gathered friends and neighbors to help them pass out a huge stack of fliers with the girls' pictures all over the Houston area, even giving them to newspaper Tr. A review of relevant due process protections informs this Court's review of whether trial counsel should have made a trial objection on that basis. Under Respondent's reasoning, the separation of the conviction and sentencing decisions in Texas' capital punishment scheme diffuse the core concern of Beck: that a jury will impose a death sentence fearing that they would free a man guilty of a lesser crime. The trial court refused to provide the jury with the requested instructions. Medelln gave both written and taped confessions. The AEDPA forbids habeas relief on issues "adjudicated on the merits" in state court unless the state decision "was contrary to, or an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law" or "was based on an unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented in the State court proceeding." . . Venancio Medelln, the brother of Jos Medelln, was 14 at the time of the murder, the same age as Jennifer Ertman. The confessions of the gang members that were used at trial indicated that there was never less than 2 men on each of the girls at any one time and that the girls were repeatedly raped orally, anally and vaginally for the entire hour. While were at it maybe some pads for Jorge Sr. for his meets with Bubba. The Court must decide whether, by statute or in practice, Texas prevented Cantu's jury from giving effect to his mitigating evidence. 1996) (quotation omitted). Vol. Id. The gang members took Jenny and Elizabeth from the clearing into a wooded area, leaving the juvenile behind, saying he was "too little to watch". Here, Cantu's attorneys argued that, if he were to receive a death sentence, he, like the victims, would be killed. Given the exhaustive prior summaries of the crime the Court will recite only briefly the factual narrative. 1997); United States v. Harrison, 55 F.3d 163, 167 (5th Cir. The Jurek Court found that the constitutionality of the Texas scheme "turns on whether the enumerated [special issue] questions allow consideration of particularized mitigating factors." Does that cause the defendant's behavior? Eventually, the en banc Fifth Circuit in Graham v. Collins, 950 F.2d 1009 (5th Cir. Jos Medelln was executed at 9:57 pm on August 5, 2008, after his last-minute appeals were rejected by the Supreme Court. Cantu's claim invokes decades of jurisprudence involving Texas' method of placing mitigating evidence before capital juries. 2254(e)(1). The punishment phase evidence showed Cantu to be a violent young man, though the murders were of previosuly unknown level of violence. PROC. In Jurek v. Texas, 428 U.S. 262 (1976), the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of Texas's capital sentencing statute. 28 at 698-99. Vol. This reasoning prevents a "false dilemma by advancing generalized arguments regarding the defendant's future dangerousness while, at the same time, preventing the jury from learning that the defendant will never be released on parole." 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 "[T]he state may shape and structure the jury's consideration of mitigation so long as it does not preclude the jury from giving effect to any relevant mitigating evidence." Im sure they fed off each others violence. WebOn June 24, 1993, Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman from Houston, Texas were raped and murdered. The question is whether Texas' definition of mitigating evidence inhibits mitigation review. Testimony showed that Raul lasted through three of the members before briefly losing consciousness. The prosecution introduced the allegedly inflammatory material while explaining the condition of the corpses, describing the process by which the police identified the girls' bodies, and verifying the statements made by Cantu and others. . 2254(d). Cantu emphasizes that the State must afford the jury a vehicle to consider "any aspect of the defendant's character proffered as a basis for the imposition of a sentence less than death." I wonder if any of these men would have done something like this if they were alone. The trial court included Texas' explicit mitigation special issue in the instant case. 1. 21 at 235. That some defendants received more than the Constitution requires does not mean the omission of the information was error in Cantu's case. As the others described the rapes, Cantu "is just agreeing with them" with "a grin on his face." Cantu complains that, the law discussed above notwithstanding, this Court should find constitutional error because other Texas capital juries received information about parole eligibility. Fourteen-year-old Venancio Medellin was present at the crime, participated in raping the girls, and testified at trial about each gang member's involvement in the sexual assault and killing. "As a general principle, Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, relating to summary judgment, applies with equal force in the context of habeas corpus cases." Officer Swainson again informed Cantu of his rights. DOES SHE HAVE BLOND HAIR?!!?". Cantu claims that the language of Texas' statutorily authorized mitigation special issue impeded full jury consideration of his penalty-phase evidence. (Doc. 2000). 2006); but see Smith v. Quarterman, 515 F.3d 392, 412 (5th Cir. 1999); Muniz v. Johnson, 132 F.3d 214, 224 (5th Cir. Clerk's Record at 100-02. . This action comes before the Court on Respondent Nathaniel Quarterman's answer and motion for summary judgment. State Habeas Record at 259. 21 at 311. Because a reasonable jury would find that Cantu's second statement fully agreed with the other overwhelming evidence against Cantu, the Court of Criminal Appeals was not unreasonable in holding that the facts of this case did not entitle him to a lesser-included-offense instruction. Penry II, 532 U.S. at 802. Umeken ni ting v k thut bo ch dng vin hon phng php c cp bng sng ch, m bo c th hp th sn phm mt cch trn vn nht. 31, SX 6. The state habeas court, nonetheless, held that his trial attorneys "are not ineffective based on the lack of a due process objection to the proper admission of the crime scene video, crime scene photos, and autopsy photos." Web15K. Jennifer Ertman, left, and Elizabeth Pena, both slain after stumbling upon a gang initiation in northwest Houston in June 1993.. Houston Chronicle. The jury instructions in the guilt/innocence phase gave the jury only two options: convict Cantu of capital murder or acquit him. However, Cantu objects that the instruction unnecessarily confined the jury's review to "evidence that a juror might regard as reducing the defendant's moral blameworthiness." Until the Texas state legislature could revise the capital sentencing scheme to comply with Penry I, courts attempted to correct the statutory inadequacy through jury instructions. Entry No. PENAL CODE 19.02 (murder). Vol. Subsequent decisions by [the Fifth Circuit] have consistently held that a state trial court may not, under Beck, refuse a lesser-included-offense instruction if the jury could rationally acquit on the capital crime and convict for the noncapital crime." 21 at 210, 257. The AEDPA prevents appellate review of a habeas petition unless the district or circuit courts certify specific issues for appeal. Cantu complains that the Equal Protection Clause should have allowed the same information to come before his jury. Vol. 21 at 307-08. As Cantu's trial counsel Donald Davis concluded his closing argument, he begged the jury not to return a sentence that would result in his client's death: Tr. Vol. 28 at 768-69. WebMost of the soft tissue on Jennifer Ertmans head and the external portion of her vagina was eaten by maggots, indicating that there was trauma, hemorrhaging and bleeding. Both then completed the act by strangling the girl with a shoelace in Pea's presence. Put a needle in her arm and just go to sleep. 2002); Rudd v. Johnson, 256 F.3d 317, 320 (5th Cir. at 825. Here, the state habeas court found: Federal due process concerns are not coextensive with state evidentiary rules. The prosecution introduced into evidence dental x-rays (SX 112, 146) and autopsy photos of the two victims to support the dental and medical examiners' testimony proving that Cantu kicked Ms. Ertman in the mouth as she was dying and that the gang members finished killing the girls by stomping on their neck (photographs of Elizabeth Pena: SX 113, 115-18, 120, 122-29, 142, 143, 149-51; photographs of Jennifer Ertman: SX 120, 133-34, 136-37, 139-43). After being informed of and waiving his constitutional rights, Cantu provided two written statements. This federal habeas action follows. 2001); Miller v. Johnson, 200 F.3d 274, 290-91 (5th Cir. 2005). When Perez went to shower and clean the blood off him, Jose Medellin began to describe the events of that evening. A court may only issue a COA when "the applicant has made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right." Next, Cassie goes over the most horrendous murder we've probably covered yet; the decapitation and murder of the Rubio siblings by the hand of their own parents in Brownsville. I want them to suffer without stop until the end of time, until their very souls explode from sheer agony and pain. Tr. In light of those conclusions, the state habeas court held that Cantu "fail[ed] to show that trial counsel are ineffective based on the lack of objection to the State's cited punishment[.]" The murder of He then clasped his arm around Pea's neck, threw her to the ground and dragged her down a gravel decline in the direction of the other gang members as Pea screamed and pleaded for help. Cantu complains that the absence of correct information about parole law left his defense theory incomplete and ineffectual. PROC. State Habeas Record at 259. His knowledge of the crimes came from the killers themselves, most of whom came to his home after the murders, bragging and swapping the jewelry they had stolen from the girls. Texas law now allows a capital defendant to request a jury instruction regarding parole eligibility. Lockett v. Ohio, 438 U.S. 586, 604 (1978) (plurality opinion); see also Eddings v. Oklahoma, 455 U.S. 104, 114-15 (1982). . Laura Ingraham today said shes got incident after incident of things like this committed by illegals. TEX. Tr. The Simmons court reasoned that, when a State imposes the death penalty on the premise that the convicted individual poses a danger to society, the fact that the defendant may receive life without the possibility of parole "will necessarily undercut the State's argument regarding the threat the defendant poses to society." Robertson, 324 F.3d at 304 (quoting Brecht v. Abrahamson, 507 U.S. 619, 629 (1993)); see also Aleman v. Sternes, 320 F.3d 687, 690-91 (7th Cir. In 2005, President George W. Bush ordered hearings to be held. See 28 U.S.C. Vol. While in state and federal court Cantu has mentioned prejudice flowing from the crime-scene video, his complaints have focused most strongly on the admission of allegedly prejudicial photographs. Tr. The next morning, the girls parents began to frantically look for them, paging them on their pagers, calling their friends to see if they knew where they were, to no avail. 2. 403 because "the photographs are inflammatory, they're highly prejudicial, they're unnecessary for the State to prove its case, and their prejudice far outweighs any probative value." Strickland, 466 U.S. at 700. Id. Part of the belt was left at the murder scene, the rest was found in O'Brien's home. Vol. Cantu himself escorted Ms. Ertman into the woods. C s sn xut Umeken c cp giy chng nhn GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice), chng nhn ca Hip hi thc phm sc kho v dinh dng thuc B Y t Nht Bn v Tiu chun nng nghip Nht Bn (JAS). See 28 U.S.C. 2 at 13.) Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. 28 U.S.C. Dowthitt, 230 F.3d at 757 (quotation omitted). Sadly, they never Houston Police Department Officer Robert G. Parish informed Cantu of his constitutional rights. 2008); Thacker, 396 F.3d at 617-18; the Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause, Nealy v. Dretke, 172 F. App'x 593, 597 (5th Cir. Woods v. Johnson, 75 F.3d 1017, 1039 (5th Cir. The Supreme Court itself has broadly used the term "moral blameworthiness" to describe that which a jury considers in effectuating the mitigation inquiry. at 171. Simmons, however, only applies to a capital sentencing scheme that provides for life without the possibility of parole. Because the Fifth Circuit, however, has avoided ruling on this argument, see Foster v. Dretke, 2006 WL 616980 (5th Cir. With respect to those convictions between 1989 and 1991, the Supreme Court ultimately rejected Texas' stopgap instructions. 22 at 569-72. 37.071 2(g). It's his choice. The Beck Court held that a State cannot "impose a blanket ban on lesser-included-offense instructions in capital cases. In 1972, the Supreme Court in Furman v. Georgia, 408 U.S. 238 (1972), condemned death penalty statutes that gave the sentencer open-ended discretion. Cordova v. Lynaugh, 838 F.2d 764, 767 (5th Cir. See Richardson v. Marsh, 481 U.S. 200, 211 (1987) ("[J]uries are presumed to follow their instructions[.]"). Nothing in federal precedent indicates that Texas' current means of putting mitigating evidence before the jury violates the Constitution. Entry No. A state court unreasonably applies federal law when it "identifies the correct governing legal rule from [the Supreme Court] cases but unreasonably applies it to the particular facts of the particular state prisoner's case" or when "the state court either unreasonably extends a legal principle from [Supreme Court] precedent to a new context where it should not apply or unreasonably refuses to extend that principle to a new context where it should apply." Jose Medellin said that they "had a lot of fun and it should come out on the news." If you can live in this country for years illegally and then remember you did not get to talk to the Mexican Council general, it should be to damn bad. During the guilt/innocence phase of trial, the prosecution called police officers and crime scene investigators to describe the scene, the recovery of evidence, and the condition of the bodies when discovered. Strickland only commands relief when an inmate shows a reasonable probability of a different result. Vol. The prosecution argued that Cantu eschewed opportunities for rehabilitation. The State of Texas prosecuted Cantu and his four fellow gang members simultaneously but in separate trials. Full title:PETER ANTHONY CANTU, Petitioner, v. NATHANIEL QUARTERMAN, Director, Texas, Court:United States District Court, S.D. Christina Cantu questioned why Villarreal was bleeding and Prez had a bloody shirt. WebJennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pea were walking home along White Oak Bayou and through T.C. State Habeas Record at 252. 1988). 2) Your immigration ideas are either traitorous or you have sold out to big business over consumers. Tam International phn phi cc sn phm cht lng cao trong lnh vc Chm sc Sc khe Lm p v chi tr em. 2254(d)(1). 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. PROC. Tr. Vol. The jury's answers to the special issues required the trial court to impose a death sentence. I'm going to show up to his parole. 21 at 299-300. 2000) (same); Boyd v. Johnson, 167 F.3d 907, 912 (5th Cir. FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1908103/posts, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1907918/posts, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1907733/posts, http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1907715/posts. Prosecutorial Argument Concerning Mitigating Evidence. See 28 U.S.C. Texas has already executed O'Brien and Medellin. Tr. The case was also notable in that the state of Texas rejected attempts by the International Court of Justice to halt the executions of several of the perpetrators. Two VERY important things in the criminal justice system have changed as a result of these murders.
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