Tam International phn phi cc sn phm cht lng cao trong lnh vc Chm sc Sc khe Lm p v chi tr em. Cantu has not shown that the admission of the challenged material was fundamentally unfair, particularly since the trial court clearly tried to filter out any unnecessarily disturbing material. Medellin stopped Pena. Tr. Venancio Medelln, the brother of Jos Medelln, was 14 at the time of the murder, the same age as Jennifer Ertman. However, the Supreme Court "has never held that jury discretion must be unlimited or unguided; [it has] never suggested that jury consideration of mitigating evidence must be undirected or unfocused; [it has] never concluded that States cannot channel jury discretion in an effort to achieve a more rational and equitable administration of justice." HOUSTON - State officials have denied parole for Venancio Medellin, the youngest of six gang members convicted of the vicious rapes and murders of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena in 1993, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg made the announcement on Saturday, Nov. 14. 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. 1999) ("Relief based on Simmons is foreclosed by Teague."). Kansas v. Marsh, 548 U.S. 163, 174 (2006). Cantu claims that the trial court violated his constitutional rights by not allowing for his conviction for less-serious offenses. Vol. They then each took a turn "jumping on her neck." The possibility of parole, not the timing thereof, exempted Texas from the Simmons requirement. No mercy for the bastard. In closing arguments, trial counsel encouraged the jury to find that Officer Swainson manufactured Cantu's second statement. Cantu's attorneys adduced testimony that supported the first two propositions. This location was approximately one mile from Pea's home. In other words, the Fifth Circuit's constitutional-relevance test looked for a relationship between the mitigating evidence and a defendant's culpability, granting relief only if some aspect of the evidence transcended the jury's role in answering the special issues. 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 Importantly, the state courts did not unreasonably find a lack of Strickland prejudice. 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." Respondent has moved for summary judgment. Id. The stopgap instructions given by the Texas courts generally informed the jury: In 1991, the Texas Legislature added a statutory special issue that explicitly required the jury to consider a defendant's mitigating evidence: TEX. Tr. One of the gang members later said during the brag session that by the time he got to one of the girls, "she was loose and sloppy." 21 at 294. When the police questioned 'Gonzalez', he said that he had made the original call at his 16 year-old wife's urging. The families of both Ertman and Pea strongly favored the execution(s). See Alexander v. Johnson, 211 F.3d 895, 898 (5th Cir. There, the gang members strangled the girls with their hands, shoelaces, and a belt. Cantu also makes no argument that his actions in participating in the murder did not rise to the level of "intentional" mens rea required for a capital murder conviction. Randy Lee Ertman - A celebration of life is scheduled for Randy Ertman, 62, of Somerville, Texas at 10:00 AM September 6th, 2014 at Grace United Methodist Church. Cantu alleges that the prosecutors comments were unconstitutional because "the prosecuting attorney made reference to the photographs in his closing only to emphasize the horror of death and decay[.]" The medical examiner later testified that this is how she could be sure as to the horrible brutality of the rapes, beatings and murders. Vol. Failure to Make a Due Process Objection to the Allegedly Inflammatory Material. WebJennifer Ertman was born on August 15, 1978, to Sandra and Randy Ertman. Consideration of Mitigating Evidence Under Texas Law. 21 at 327. 20 at 90; Clerk's Record at 104. 2002) ("[Rule 56] applies only to the extent that it does not conflict with the habeas rules. management. Id. The Fifth Circuit's interpretation of the Beck standard does not look at the evidence in a selective manner; "[t]he issue here is whether a rational juror, given all the facts, could have acquitted [a petitioner] of capital murder and convicted him of a lesser included offense." Part of the belt was left at the murder scene, the rest was found in O'Brien's home. Clearly established Supreme Court precedent applies Simmons "only to instances where, as a legal matter, there is no possibility of parole if the jury decides the appropriate sentence is life in prison." Tr. Although Cantu had been a continuing disciplinary problem, expelled from three schools and given to threats of violence, nothing about his life even began to approach the depravity of his conduct on June 24, 1993. I refuse to vote for another RINO, we should not be feared into voting for these one world types who could care less about America, our sovereignty and the constitution. 21 at 116-11. Cantu complains that the Equal Protection Clause should have allowed the same information to come before his jury. Jennifer Latson of the Houston Chronicle said that the deaths of the girls "shook" the Oak Forest neighborhood of Houston "to its foundation.". The Furman Court established that a state capital sentencing system must satisfy two requirements to be constitutionally acceptable: it must "rationally narrow the class of death-eligible defendants" and "permit a jury to render a reasoned, individualized sentencing determination based on a death-eligible defendant's record, personal characteristics, and the circumstances of his crime." "Failure to make the required showing of either deficient performance or sufficient prejudice defeats the ineffectiveness claim." The other five were tried for capital murder in Harris County, Texas, convicted and sentenced to death. Cantu claims that the prosecution limited the jury's consideration of that evidence in much the same way as the Fifth Circuit's now-discredited constitutional relevancy test. The whole purpose of punishing these people should be to make them suffer. Medelln said in a sworn statement that he learned that the Mexican consulate could assist him in 1997. CRIM. While were at it maybe some pads for Jorge Sr. for his meets with Bubba. The prosecution responded by comparing the legal process by which Cantu could receive a death sentence to the brutal murders. Fellow gang member Roman Sandoval described how the gang members encountered the two girls and dragged them off to be raped. Later, Houston Police Department Officer Roy Swainson compared Cantu's initial statement to his interview of Fransisco Sandoval and the statement taken from O'Brien. Officer Swainson again informed Cantu of his rights. Capital defendants in Texas state court now face two possible sentences: (1) the death penalty or (2) a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. After being informed of and waiving his constitutional rights, Cantu provided two written statements. She then attempted to flee. The murder of In response, Cantu repeatedly kicked the girl in her face and body, dislodging three of her teeth and fracturing several ribs. WebOn the night of June 24, 1993, 14-year-old Jennifer Ertman and 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena were walking home when they encountered a gang initiation. 1996). 2254(d)(1). . Tr. The day of rage is coming though. Simmons, however, only applies to a capital sentencing scheme that provides for life without the possibility of parole. "In deciding whether a jury could rationally acquit on the capital crime and convict for the noncapital crime, [this Court] must turn to Texas law." TOP 0.5% June 8, 2021 The most difficult episode of Clueston. Jennifer tried her hand at basketball before concluding she wasn't cut out for athletics. In other words, there is a vast asymmetry in the punishments to be imposed, all because of nothing more substantive than a few weeks variation in birth dates. The bodies were very badly decomposed, even for four days in Houston's brutal summer heat and humidity, particularly in the head, neck and genital areas. In Beck, "the jury [was] given the choice of either convicting the defendant of the capital crime, in which case it is required to impose the death penalty, or acquitting him, thus allowing him to escape all penalties for his alleged participation in the crime." Even assuming it was error to admit the material, the Court cannot find that it was a crucial, highly significant factor in Cantu's conviction. Tr. 'You're not even an animal,' in the courtroom of Judge Bill Harmon, on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 1994, When the Supreme Court of the United States banned the executions of people who committed crimes while they were below 18 years of age, the sentences of Prez and Villarreal were automatically commuted to life in prison. One of them bragged about having virgin blood on his underwear. Casetext, Inc. and Casetext are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice. The state courts would not be unreasonable in finding that the result would not have been any different if his counsel had performed in the manner Cantu outlines on federal review. I cant even imagine those poor girls. While the jury may have been able to infer that Cantu could not have been paroled before the end of that period, Texas law hindered him from fully explaining parole ineligibility to the jury. Accordingly, Cantu has not shown that the state court's rejection of this claim was contrary to, or an unreasonable application of, federal law. See id. But he has sowered. State Habeas Record at 261. Officer Swainson "[a]sked him if he [would] like to continue, put it in writing. ]"); Robertson v. Cain, 324 F.3d 297, 306 (5th Cir. While Cantu now speculates that "he simply wanted to close ranks with his friends, or perhaps believed that his admission would better serve him in the ensuing prosecution," (Doc. Vol. Thank you for doing this write up. Although federal law on this issue is not altogether coherent, the state courts' rejection of Cantu's claims was not contrary to, or an unreasonable application of, federal law. Under Texas law, a defendant is entitled to a lesser-included-offense instruction only if the lesser crime is within the proof necessary to establish the charged offense. 2254(d)(1). O'Brien was videotaped smiling at the scene of the crime. The trial court's instruction prevented the jury from giving any effect to the parole inferences before the jury. However, a court on summary judgment must view the evidence through "the prism of the substantive evidentiary burden." 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. Tr. PROC. 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[.]" Cantu's first six claims challenge the trial court's refusal to inform his jury about Texas parole law. Cantu, Medelln, Prez, and Villarreal then met at Cantu's residence, where he lived with his brother, Joe Cantu, and sister-in-law, Christina Cantu. there are times we have all thought and had dreams of what we would do with a big lottery win. The medical examiner testified that Elizabeth's two front teeth were knocked out of her brutalized mouth before she died and that two of Jennifer's ribs were broken after she had died. Entry No. Vol. I assume that's why it's left such a strong impact on me. State Habeas Record at 259. Aguilar v. Dretke, 428 F.3d 526, 531 (5th Cir. Vol. Days later, Cantu's brother and sister-in-law reported what they had heard to the police. Significant jurisprudence dealt with the constitutional issues in the first category. Cantu himself stated: "The bitch wouldn't die so I stomped on her neck." 2. See 28 U.S.C. The admissibility of evidence is generally a matter of state evidentiary law. Respondent assumes that Texas' bifurcated system (that was not present in Beck) allows a jury to give effect to any lingering doubt about guilt by delivering a capital conviction but a life sentence, avoiding Beck's all-or-nothing conundrum. Darden v. Wainwright, 477 U.S. 168, 181 (1986) (quoting Donnelly v. DeChristoforo, 416 U.S. 637, 643 (1974)). See 28 U.S.C. "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." While Jenny and Elizabeth were living the last few hours of their lives, Peter Cantu, Efrain Perez, Derrick Sean O'Brien, Joe Medellin and Joe's 14 year old brother were initiating a new member, Raul Villareal, into their gang, known as the Black and Whites. State Habeas Record at 252. Rejecting a similar claim by one of Cantu's co-defendants, the Fifth Circuit noted that "the trial court's instructions taken alone, allowed the jury to consider and give effect to" the mitigating evidence presented at trial. The State concluded its case by publishing the second statement to the jury. Ok, thanks. 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." "Far from rejecting the current scheme regarding mitigation, . He was the ringleader in a crime that struck a raw nerve for its Villareal and O'Brien began choking the Ms. Ertman, first with their hands and then with a belt. Vol. The state court overruled the defense objection to most of the material. The On that basis, the prosecution asked the jury to assess Texas' special issues in a manner that would result in a death sentence. Texas law defined mitigating circumstances as "evidence that a juror might regard as reducing the defendant's moral blameworthiness." 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. 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