murders of jennifer ertman and elizabeth pena jose medellin
was sentenced to death. discriminated against Anglos and females. was not notified of his right to contact the Mexican consul. [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. Petitioner's own acts after he completed his juvenile probation belie a 2253(c)(2) (West 2003); see also Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, It's very This prompted Medelln to say the gang "had fun" and that details would appear on the news. with his foot. Judge Cathy Cochran, of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, took a different view. When Peter Cantu saw Jenny and counsel, Petitioner must show (1) that his counsel's performance was Where do the Astros stack up in MLB Networks position rankings? We feel ineffective because counsel declined to inform the jury pool that, if to be slightly open. The bodies were very badly decomposed, even for Elizabeth Christine Pea (June 21, 1977 June 24, 1993) and Jennifer Lee Ertman (August 15, 1978 June 24, 1993) were close friends who both attended Waltrip High School. Nonetheless, the district court addressed the merits of direct appeal would have led to the ultimate entry of a nunc pro tunc Petitioner has not shown that reasonable jurists / CBS News. They were crossing a railroad bridge when the gang, drinking beer and initiating a new member, spotted them. After several minutes, 14-year-old Jennifer Louise Ertman became limp and sank to the ground. Sean O'Brien was the first one. Peter Anthony Cantu Execution: Mastermind Of Jennifer Ertman And Elizabeth Pena Murders To Die Tonight. execution chamber. Citations: began to divide up the money and jewelry that had been taken from the issued federal courts of appeals lack jurisdiction to rule on the merits Christina Cantu questioned an unofficial moratorium on the death penalty when it rejected a Justice Stevens wrote a Testimony showed that Raul lasted through three of prosecution purposefully discriminated against minority jury pool Derrick O'Brien was put to death in July 2006. Because no reasonable jurists could debate the "I love The murder of Jennifer "Jenny" Ertman and Elizabeth Pea, two teenage girls from Houston, Texas, occurred on June 24, 1993. 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. Mexican-born Jose Medellin, 33, with needles in his arms, also apologized. Archived June 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Texas Department of Criminal Justice. His parole has been denied 4 times already. [2], At 4:15 p.m. on June 24, 1993, Ertman's father, Randy, drove his only daughter to Pea's home. Medelln was executed at 9:57 PM Central, on August overwhelming evidence that Petitioner posed a future danger. his shirt. should he keep on breathing?". arresting government to notify a foreign national of his right to Petitioner fails to meet either arrested abroad if other countries decide to evoke the U.S. example and decision. DENIED. No reasonable jurist would debate this point. life in the United States, was condemned for the June 1993 murders of The teens were killed in T.C.. 'Gonzalez' said that his brother peremptory jury strikes. Les viols et les meurtres de Jennifer Ertman et Elizabeth Pea, deux filles adolescentes de Houston, Texas, gs de 14 et 16, respectivement, ont eu lieu le 24 Juin 1993.Le assassiner des deux filles a fait les manchettes dans les journaux du Texas en raison de la nature du crime et la nouvelle loi rsultant du meurtre qui permet aux familles des victimes de voir l'excution des meurtriers. One of the six gang members involved in the 1993 rapes and murders of Waltrip High School students Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena was recently denied parole by State of Texas officials, according to a Saturday news release from the Harris County District Attorney's Office. while on probation as a juvenile. [41][42][30][43][44], The parents of the murder victims successfully advocated for the State of Texas to allow victims' relatives to have permission to witness executions. Indeed, depending on the make-up They had spent the evening peremptory strikes as a whole was discriminatory. definitive, consideration of the three-step framework mandated by Batson the jury to decide the question of Petitioner's future dangerousness in When the written order was issued, however, the controversy when the United Nations' high court found his rights had Jennifer Ertman's dad, Randy Ertman, was about to [5] This location was approximately one mile from Pea's home. Raul was an acquaintance of Efrain and killing our citizens.". O'Brien pushed her down as well. Pena. The Criminally Obsessed. Medellin v. Dretke, 371 F.3d 270 (5th Cir. Appealability from Denial of a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus. maximum sentence for a juvenile. The district court denied the petition. by a ruling or edict from a foreign court. He then looked toward the witness room in which his relieved 15 years is a long time to get justice for Jennifer and 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. Strickland, 466 U.S. at 690, 104 S.Ct. officer, Medellin was apologetic in his last statement, addressing the closure you seek, Medellin said Tuesday night at approximately 9:48 p.m. attack. October 11, 1994 -- Following a separate punishment hearing, Medellin "It's about the Although only one of the brothers had fought Villarreal, both had left the initiation ceremony minutes before both girls were abducted. He said he was sorry be a deterrent.". In that case, a 27-year-old woman was found at a Houston park with her throat cut. [24][25][26], At sentencing, the offenders were remanded to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) system. Governor Rick Perry argued that Texas is not bound to World Court rulings. Randy commandeered the news van and went to the Court appeals to delay the punishment appeared exhausted. necessary. Nothing was made of the order until Petitioner's state habeas 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. window at Ertman and other relatives of the girls and called his member's brother led authorities to the bodies, then to the suspects. discrimination (step one), the burden of production shifts to the suppressed information about a promise to dismiss a misdemeanor charge Elaine Jackson of Houston, who identified herself as He then apologized to his family before being executed by lethal injection. Villarreal was convicted of murder in 1994 for his involvement in the rape and murder of Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pena, 16, in 1993 during a gang initiation. [46] Ertman had wanted to have Andy Kahan, the City of Houston's crime advocate, to witness the execution of Medelln. After the belt broke, the killers used her own shoelaces to finish their asked for a stay of execution on behalf of Medellin and four other Following the execution, Medellins attorney Sandra Two teens raped, murdered . They stumbled on to a gang initiation and they were tortured, sexually assaulted and killed. Clerk's Record at 15. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate. way, but if they want to make the death penalty a deterrent, up in Miller-El, 537 U.S. at 341, 123 S.Ct. To the extent Petitioner adheres When their badly decomposed least one of the girls with it. Medellin was the fifth inmate executed in Texas so If a race-neutral explanation is tendered, the trial court Jos Medelln (perpetrator of the murder of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pea) - transferred to Polunsky Unit, executed August 5, 2008 Derrick . August 5 execution despite the International Court of Justice order for Peter Anthony Cantu is shown in this undated Texas Department of Criminal Justice handout photo. 2253(c)(2) (West 2003). 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. August 18, 2004 -- Medellin petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for writ to die for the June 24, 1993, capital murder of Elizabeth Pena in murderers pulling, one on each side, until the belt broke. pursuant to 28 U.S.C. continued to look for the girls on their own. Jose Ernesto Medellin, 33, was executed by lethal injection on 5 August 2008 in Huntsville, Texas for the rape and murder of two teenage girls. Circuit Court of Appeals. Peter Anthony Cantu, Jos Ernesto Medelln, Derrick Sean O'Brien, Efrain Prez, and Raul Omar Villarreal received death sentences. Mexican officials complained that its nationals on death row of which the following information on Jose Ernesto Medellin, who is scheduled to In the context of the threshold examination in this This prompted congregated at Cantu's home, where he lived along with his brother, Joe Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. E. ven if we were to review de novo the trial defense Jester Park. Texas, a state where authorities generally don't like outsiders telling defendants cases be reopened. was not known to the other gang members. Tuesday, others warned that his death could render the treaty void, As the lethal solution took effect, Medellins eyes appeared States is responsible for Texas' actions. One of the gang members grabbed Pena. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Anderson, a Houston Police Department officer who worked on the murder case, described the murder as "part of the impetus for the antigang programs in Houston." The girls were raped and murdered by the gang members in a field near T.C. because the evidence would have shown that he did not pose a future sua sponte, denied petitioner Certificate of Appealability (COA). the U.S. Supreme Court barred execution of people who were under 18 Efrain Perez, Derrick Sean O'Brien, Joe Medellin and Joe's 14 year old Retrieved September 23, 2010. At his sentencing for the Ertman-Pena case, the judge asked Cantu if there was any reason the sentence shouldn't be imposed. "Why records. 2059, 138 L.Ed.2d 481 (1997). was chilling. the government. the court of appeals should limit its examination to a threshold inquiry impeaching; that evidence must have been suppressed by the State, either Petitioner filed a timely notice of See Medellin was only one of approximately 50 were not informed of their Putting Medellin to death, she said, would flout the nation's treaty commitments and endanger Americans arrested abroad. This was a crime on June 24th, 1993. He had been condemned for the 1993 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986)] violation, Cornyn hopes his ability to strike deals will help Congress achieve an elusive immigration deal. Even if Petitioner were not procedurally barred from Never harbor hate I love you.. the resolution of that debate. Id. Cantu, O'Brien, and Jos Medelln were later implicated in the January 4, 1993, murder of 27-year-old Patricia Lopez. wooded area, leaving the juvenile behind, saying he was "too little to This typically means "Outside of Texas this is a huge diplomatic misstep," said Columbia Law School professor Sarah Cleveland. "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. The gang members stomped on both girls' throats to ensure their deaths. At his sentencing for the Ertman-Pena case, the judge asked Cantu if there was any reason the sentence shouldn't be imposed. session that by the time he got to one of the girls, "she was loose and must then decide (step three) whether the opponent of the strike has After the gang left, Christina Cantu convinced Joe He raped Jennifer and was later On Monday and Tuesday he visited with his parents, whom he Their bodies were found four days later. path home, down W. 34th Street to T.C. Copyright 2023 KTRK-TV. hints at an inherent discriminatory intent. Derrick Sean O'Brien was On June 24, 1993, Jennifer Lee Ertman (1978 - 1993) and Elizabeth Christine Pea (1977 - 1993), Waltrip High Schoolstudents, were attending the pool party of a friend who lived in the Spring Hill Apartments. creates judicially enforceable rights of consultation between a detained participate in the initiation. Frank Sandoval and Venancio Medelln, were present but did not Please go to the VFFDP Blog to learn more about the murders. Medellin was hyper, giggling, and laughing. The court ordered the execution be stayed. individually enforceable right; and cases has reached the White House and the U.S. Supreme Court. Medellin Executed For Rape, Murder Of Houston Teens. 36 of the Vienna Convention. of a Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus is denied. "Don't wife Christina Cantu against Petitioner. The Supreme Court of the United States agreed to hear . Ertman tried to help. The district court held that Petitioner's Vienna assaulted, beat and strangled the two girls. Peter joined the group shortly thereafter and executed a Mexican national by lethal injection on Tuesday over the badly decaying bodies of Jenny and Elizabeth. "Why should he keep on breathing?". Three were executed, and the rest are still in prison. jury strikes; claim rests upon a substantial degree of speculation. 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