1997); United States v. Harrison, 55 F.3d 163, 167 (5th Cir. WebOn June 24th 1993 a pair of teenage girls were walking through a public park in Houston,Texas when they were viciously assaulted by a local youth gang. Tr. The remaining gang members then began a savage sexual assault. Failure to Object to Prosecutorial Argument. Without the slightest provocation, gang members assaulted, repeatedly raped, and brutally murdered two young girls. 1996). Governor Rick Perry argued that Texas is not bound to World Court rulings. Vol. The 14-year-old juvenile later testified that he had gone back and forth between his brother and Peter Cantu since they were the only ones there that he really knew and kept urging them to leave. At trial, Officer Swainson testified that, "[b]ased on the statements that [they] had obtained, it appeared as if maybe there was a possibility [Cantu] didn't reveal his total involvement." State Habeas Record at 261. Like 4 of us climbed a tree. Executing Cantu causes still further misgivings when viewed, not relative to his peers, but relative to his life prior to the unspeakable horror of this single evening. Cordova v. Lynaugh, 838 F.2d 764, 767 (5th Cir. Vol. Id. Cantu, 939 S.W.2d at 632; State Habeas Record at 257. Medelln reported that he had killed a girl, and noted that he would have found it easier with a gun. A jury convicted Cantu of capital murder. The Fifth Circuit has held that the use of the term "moral blameworthiness" does not prevent the jury from considering mitigating circumstances because "[v]irtually any mitigating evidence is capable of being viewed as having some bearing on the defendant's `moral culpability'" apart from the concerns identified in the other special issues. [not to] kill this child." due process plainly requires that [the defendant] be allowed to bring [parole ineligibility] to the jury's attention by way of argument by defense counsel or an instruction from the court." 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. Four days after the girls disappeared, a person identifying himself as 'Gonzalez' called the Crimestoppers Tips number. 2003) (citing Moore v. Johnson, 194 F.3d 586, 612 (5th Cir. The trial court initially prevented the defense only from claiming that "if [Cantu] receives a life sentence he will spend the rest of his life in prison and never be released on parole." His history, however, might well permit the inference that Cantu's horrific, homicidal bestiality on the night of June 24th was aberrational and not proof that his life was beyond redemption. (Doc. Vol. 21 at 212. Tr. 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. WebThe State of Texas charged Cantu with the capital murder of Jennifer Ertman during a kidnapping, robbery, or aggravated sexual assault. "Failure to make the required showing of either deficient performance or sufficient prejudice defeats the ineffectiveness claim." 2003) ("Nothing in the AEDPA suggests that it is appropriate to issue writs of habeas corpus even though any error of federal law that may have occurred did not affect the outcome."). He extended his violent acts into the prison setting. PRO. 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. Ertman and Pea decided to take a 10-minute shortcut to Pea's residence in Oak Forest by following the railroad tracks and then passing through T.C. Death penalty opponents protested the impending execution. Tr. Clerk's Record at 278. Tr. Cantu later gave Venancio Medellin a watch that belonged to Ms. Ertman. 37.071 2(f)(4). The 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 vendors on the roadside. Neal v. Cain, 141 F.3d 207, 214 (5th Cir. See Howell v. Mississippi, 543 U.S. 440, 445 (2005) (finding that similar reasoning by the Mississippi Supreme Court "finds some support in [Supreme Court] cases"); Hopkins v. Reeves, 524 U.S. 88, 98-99 (1998) (distinguishing Beck from those cases where the jury "did not have to consider the dilemma faced by Beck's jury; its alternative to death was not setting respondent free, but rather sentencing him to life imprisonment"); Schad v. Arizona, 501 U.S. 624, 646 (1991) ("Our fundamental concern in Beck was that a jury . 22 at 579, 596-98, 603-06. (Doc. She was then forced to remove her underwear. When the rapes finally ended, the horror was not over. Gang members fought Villareal in turn. Vol. Jos Medelln got a ring with an "E", so he could give it to his girlfriend, Esther. TEX. 21 at 299-300. 487K views 2 years ago. 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. 1992), aff'd 506 U.S. 461 (1993), outlined a "constitutional-relevancy test" that it would apply to all capital trials where the jury received no directive to consider mitigating evidence. Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena were 14 and 16 years old, respectively. The Simmons Court "expressly held that its ruling did not apply to Texas, because it does not have a life-without-parole alternative to capital punishment." The Supreme Court has not, however, extended the Simmons holding beyond "when, assuming the jury fixes the sentence at life, the defendant is ineligible for parole under state law." Tr. Strickland only commands relief when an inmate shows a reasonable probability of a different result. As an integral component of the Fifth Circuit's test, a defendant had to demonstrate a "nexus" between the mitigating evidence and the special issues. "[I]t is not enough that an item of evidence viewed alone and unweighed against all the evidence supports" a lesser-included-offense instruction. 2254(d). "Congress enacted AEDPA to reduce delays in the execution of state and federal criminal sentences, particularly in capital cases, and to further the principles of comity, finality, and federalism[.]" I do agree with the father though that it wasn't nearly painful or drawn out enough. Second, Cantu claims that his state appellate attorneys should have raised a due process claim on that basis (claim eleven). Donald R. Davis and Robert Morrow represented Cantu at trial. 28 at 768-69. 37.071 2(f)(4). Randy Ertman sits on the railroad tracks near the location where the bodies of two young women were found. Tr. Against this backdrop, Cantu accuses Texas of perpetuating Penry error after the legislative renovation in 1991. The gang problem was bad enough that my middle school wouldn't allow us to wear clothing that was mostly white, mostly black, most red, mostly green, etc because of possible gang affiliation. . Cantu raises three interrelated ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims pertaining to the introduction of crime scene and autopsy photographs and video. I attended all five trials with the Ertmans and know too well the awful things that they and the Penas had to hear and see in the course of seeing Justice served for their girls. Cantu claims that Texas still unconstitutionally limits a jury's consideration of mitigating evidence. When the gang members finished bragging about the rapes, Joe Cantu asked what happened to the girls. Both girls were strangled to death. Clerk's Record at 15. From one perspective, this case reflects all the reasons that the death penalty should be imposed. 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. CODE CRIM. Additionally, the challenged material would not necessarily serve as a crucial or determinative factor in the jury's consideration of Cantu's punishment. art. What could you wear, stripes, patterns, purple, pink, grey? Venancio received a 40-year prison sentence. 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.. Vol. In doing so, the prosecution referred to the challenged material, the admission of which the Court has already decided did not constitute a due process violation. 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." It's his choice. In 1989, however, the Supreme Court held that Texas' then-operative system did not always provide an effective vehicle for considering mitigating evidence. Plentiful and detailed evidence demonstrated Cantu's culpability for capital murder. 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. Here, Cantu's attorneys argued that, if he were to receive a death sentence, he, like the victims, would be killed. The state habeas court concluded that the prosecutor's statements were not "extreme or manifestly improper or inject[ed] new and harmful facts into the trial, in light of the record as a whole." WebJennifer Ertman was born on August 15, 1978, to Sandra and Randy Ertman. Its only task is to determine whether the petitioner meets the extremely stringent standards for federal habeas corpus relief. vote for a capital conviction if the only alternative was to set the defendant free with no punishment at all"). TEX. 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. Roach v. Quarterman, 220 F. App'x 270, 277 (5th Cir. 1994); Kinnamon v. Scott, 40 F.3d 731, 733 (5th Cir. The Tennard court found that the Fifth Circuit's precedent "ha[d] no foundation in the decisions of [the Supreme] Court." 22 at 452-53. Trial comments about parole law, however, were vague. Federal review of the propriety of lesser-included-offense instructions is not so limited. they jumped on their neck." Chng ti phc v khch hng trn khp Vit Nam t hai vn phng v kho hng thnh ph H Ch Minh v H Ni. Vol. Vol. Jennifer Latson of the Houston Chronicle said that the deaths of the girls "shook" the Oak Forest neighborhood of Houston "to its foundation.". She then attempted to flee. The gang continued drinking and 'shooting the breeze' for some time and then decided to leave. 1. Tr. Im sure they fed off each others violence. Id. I was in a tree. On June 24, 1993, the girls spent the day together.and then died together. 2254(e)(1). Vol. This is no job for the criminal justice system. Entry No. 28 at 785. They were friends who attended the same high school in Houston, Texas, Waltrip High School. 22 at 455. 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 Sandoval brothers testified at trial that Medellin and Cantu forced the girls to the ground. The five The gang members all said that they "had to kill" the girls. Is there something we can do to bring more attention to this situation? ___ at ___"; and a transcript of the state habeas proceedings, cited as "State Habeas Record at ___.". PROC. R. APP. "Mitigating evidence that illustrates a defendant's character or personal history embodies a constitutionally important role in the process of individualized sentencing, and in the ultimate determination of whether the death penalty is an appropriate punishment." Violent acts into the prison setting `` State Habeas Record at ___ '' ; and transcript... 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