On that basis, the prosecution asked the jury to assess Texas' special issues in a manner that would result in a death sentence. 1996) (quotation omitted). WebJennifer Elizabeth Texas Early Like any typical teen in the early 90's, Jennifer decorates her room with posters probably from magazines like "Tiger Beat" M Maria Narvaez Elizabeth Cantu argued that Officer Swainson manufactured the second statement, but provided no testimony to support that assertion. At trial, Cantu did not give the jury a strong reason to disbelieve his second statement. 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 Beck v. Alabama, 447 U.S. 625 (1980), the Supreme Court overturned a death sentence because the trial evidence allowed for the possibility of a non-capital conviction but the jury instructions placed the defendant in an all-or-nothing conundrum: if the jury thought he was guilty merely of a lesser offense, then they could only sentence him to death or acquit him. Ramdass v. Angelone, 530 U.S. 156, 166 (2000). Christina Cantu took that to mean they killed someone. In Simmons, the Supreme Court cautioned that "[i]n a State in which parole is available, how the jury's knowledge of parole availability will affect the decision whether or not to impose the death penalty is speculative[.]" The Fifth Circuit long relied on Johnson v. Texas, 509 U.S. 350 (1993), and Graham v. Collins, 506 U.S. 461 (1992), to deny relief in Penry cases. PENAL CODE 19.02 (murder). I wondered that too. On June 24, 1993, Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman from Houston, Texas were assaulted and Tr. 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. He then transcribed a detailed second statement in which Cantu confessed to his role in the actual murder of the two girls. In Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302 (1989) ( "Penry I"), the Supreme Court found that some elements of that defendant's mental retardation and child abuse evidence evaded the jury's specific inquiry under the special issues, particularly when that evidence (1) had a mitigating thrust that went beyond the deliberateness question and (2) became a "two-edged sword because the future dangerousness question only gave it aggravating effect." Tr. (Doc. Rule 22(b). In 1994, a jury convicted Cantu for the capital murder of Jennifer Ertman. The state court, however, found that certain photographs (SX 113, 114, 121, 131, 132, 135, 138, and 152) should not be admitted. . The state habeas court indeed concluded that Cantu had procedurally defaulted any due process objection to the material. According to later testimony, on one occasion, Pea glanced in the direction of her younger friend as she herself was raped by Efrain Prez and began weeping as she observed Ertman. Tr. Because the Fifth Circuit, however, has avoided ruling on this argument, see Foster v. Dretke, 2006 WL 616980 (5th Cir. 21 at 294, Vol. (Doc. In rejecting similar claims, the Fifth Circuit has emphasized that Texas courts interpret the statute broadly, holding that "all mitigating evidence can be given effect" under the definition. The Supreme Court itself has broadly used the term "moral blameworthiness" to describe that which a jury considers in effectuating the mitigation inquiry. Medelln reported that he had killed a girl, and noted that he would have found it easier with a gun. The Clerk will provide a copy to the parties. 'Gonzalez' said that his brother was one of the six people involved in killing the girls, and gave police the names of all but one, the new recruit, whom he did not know. "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." Clerk's Record at 276. WebThe 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. This location was approximately one mile from Pea's home. Entry No. Cantu premises his argument on the assumption that a jury's knowledge of parole eligibility will inure to the benefit of the defense. The prosecution also used the allegedly inflammatory evidence to support testimony from: (1) two dentists who identified the victims from dental records and (2) a Harris County Assistant Medical Examiner who performed the autopsy. See Horn v. Banks, 536 U.S. 266, 272 (2002) (remarking that no Supreme Court case "ha[s] suggested that a writ of habeas corpus should automatically issue if a prisoner satisfies the AEDPA standard[. there are times we have all thought and had dreams of what we would do with a big lottery win. But he has sowered. Tr. 28 at 698-99. 2001); Miller v. Johnson, 200 F.3d 274, 290-91 (5th Cir. at 328 (quoting Woodson, 428 U.S. at 305). (Doc. When the police followed this suggestion, they found the badly decaying bodies of Jenny and Elizabeth. Cantu, therefore, argues that the Texas statute still requires a nexus between the crime and the mitigating evidence in the same manner as the discredited constitutional-relevancy test. 2005). The Ertmans were ecstatic at the birth of their child because they were not sure if they would ever be able to conceive, since Sandra was on the wrong side of thirty-five. Other judicial doctrines, such as the harmless-error doctrine and the non-retroactivity principle, bridle federal habeas relief. They bragged to Cantu's brother and sister-in-law about their crime. Significant jurisprudence dealt with the constitutional issues in the first category. Vol. The 2008 Still, the Court's task is not to substitute its judgment for that of the Texas state courts. Peter Cantu, far left, glances back at Randy Ertman, far right, as Ertman, father of Cantu's murder victim, Jennifer, 14, shouts. All those believed responsible were ultimately arrested. '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. refuse a lesser-included offense instruction `if the jury could rationally acquit on the capital crime and convict for the noncapital crime. Summary judgment is proper when the record shows "no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." H-02-1975 (S.D. Texas has already executed O'Brien and Medellin. The Fifth Circuit found special support because the Supreme Court affirmed the formative Graham case in establishing its Penry law and distinguished Penry I in subsequent cases. They were friends who attended the same high school in Houston, Texas, Waltrip High School. 21 at 235. Tr. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Vol. What a horrible crime. . Nearby, Mary had just rented a new house but the problem was that dang alarm. He then elaborated that he had raped both girls. O'Brien was videotaped smiling at the scene of the crime. Prosecutorial Argument Concerning Mitigating Evidence. PROC. The Court must decide whether "there is a reasonable likelihood that the jury has applied the challenged instruction in a way that prevents the consideration of constitutionally relevant evidence." Jose Medellin said that they killed "a couple of chicks." 2005); O'Brien v. Dretke, 4:02-CV-1865 (S.D. 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[.] Roman Sandoval testified that Cantu called him after the murders and essentially confessed to having raped and murdered the girls. FED. The state court records consist of a Clerk's Record that contains pretrial motions, trial court orders, jury instructions, and other pleadings, cited as "Clerk's Record at "; a 32-volume Statement of Facts, including hearings on pretrial motions, jury voir dire, the guilt/innocence phase, and the penalty phase, cited as "Tr. 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 . Vol. I think it's the first really sickening and gut-wrenching crime I read about when I was young. After 1991, capital inmates fell into three categories: (1) pre- Penry defendants whose juries were not explicitly told to consider mitigating evidence; (2) defendants sentenced between 1989 and 1991 whose juries received the nullification instruction; and (3) defendants whose juries received an explicit statutory special issue. Second, Cantu claims that his state appellate attorneys should have raised a due process claim on that basis (claim eleven). Clear, binding precedent forecloses relief on Cantu's claims. 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." Entry No. His war on terror is a sham - if he was so concerned about terrorists why does he allow American citizens to be murdered by Mexican terrorists on own soil. Cantu argues that trial counsel's performance violated the Constitution when counsel did not object during closing argument as the prosecution emphasized the crime scene photographs. State Habeas Record at 260. The Court of Criminal Appeals considers several factors in reviewing admissibility of such photographs under Rule 403, including: "the number of exhibits offered, their gruesomeness, their detail, their size, whether they are black and white or color, whether they are close-up, whether the body is naked or clothed[, and] . 2002) ("[Rule 56] applies only to the extent that it does not conflict with the habeas rules. Tr. Cantu seeks to distinguish Supreme Court and Fifth Circuit precedent by arguing that "[j]urors who are informed that a defendant will not be eligible for parole at all, or will be ineligible for a certain fixed term, assures that jurors will not mistakenly speculate that the defendant might be released into free society at an earlier time than the law permits." 3) Your have handed the Presidency to Hillary Clinton. (Doc. The trial court's instruction prevented the jury from giving any effect to the parole inferences before the jury. Cantu, 939 S.W.2d at 647. This means that the new member was required to fight every member of the gang until he passed out and then he would be accepted as a member. Venancio Medellin could not see what the other gang members were doing with Ms. Pena because he left the wooded area before the girls died. "[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." While Cantu was not particularly talkative, he agreed with the statements made by the other gang members. She was thrown to the ground by gang members Peter Cantu and Derrick Sean O'Brien. The jury's answers to the special issues required the trial court to impose a death sentence. None of this is to excuse his past criminality nor to endorse the lenient punishments that were previously imposed. Cantu also unsuccessfully requested a jury instruction on parole. 23 at 699-700. As required by Texas practice, the trial court conducted a balancing test before allowing the allegedly inflammatory material into evidence. Jennifer Latson of the Houston Chronicle said that the deaths of the girls "shook" the Oak Forest neighborhood of Houston "to its foundation.". art. The state courts were not unreasonable in finding that Cantu did not meet Strickland's prejudice prong. Vol. 2003) (citing Moore v. Johnson, 194 F.3d 586, 612 (5th Cir. . . 1996). The Court of Criminal Appeals rejected Cantu's arguments both on direct appeal and on habeas review. 22 at 569-72. Tr. 447 U.S. at 629. On the basis of those and other statements, O'Brien claimed on federal habeas review that the prosecutorial actions imposed the defunct constitutional relevancy test on the jury. 24 at 929-24; SX 5 and 6. Mar. 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. 20 at 90; Clerk's Record at 104. Tr. Vol. In light of the discussion above showing no due process violation, the state court could reasonably find that no Strickland deficient performance or prejudice flowed from trial and appellate counsel's failure to couple their arguments with a federal law objection. Entry No. Vol. Borjan v. State, 787 S.W.2d 53, 55 (Tex.Crim.App. (Doc. 1999); Muniz v. Johnson, 132 F.3d 214, 224 (5th Cir. Mr. Ertman died Sunday August 17th at home with his wife Sandy by his side. Khi u khim tn t mt cng ty dc phm nh nm 1947, hin nay, Umeken nghin cu, pht trin v sn xut hn 150 thc phm b sung sc khe. 37.071 2(f)(4). CODE CRIM. 22 at 572-79. Really. When the gang members finished bragging about the rapes, Joe Cantu asked what happened to the girls. 2002); Collier v. Cockrell, 300 F.3d 577, 583 (5th Cir. 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." . During the punishment phase of trial, Cantu claimed that he was less culpable because of a learning disorder, depression, and emotional issues. Cantu's first six claims challenge the trial court's refusal to inform his jury about Texas parole law. The state court found that the trial court properly admitted the material, suggesting that any additional objection would have been fruitless. 2. TEX. Clerk's Record at 268-69. Tr. vote for a capital conviction if the only alternative was to set the defendant free with no punishment at all"). "[I]n order to meet the requirement of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, a capital-sentencing system must allow the sentencing authority to consider mitigating circumstances." Both then completed the act by strangling the girl with a shoelace in Pea's presence. If you're willing to put it in writing. CODE CRIM. While the challenged material explained what happened to the young girls, the evidence otherwise amply supported the elements of capital murder beyond a reasonable doubt. To be sure, other young men in similar circumstances would not have participated in cold-blooded murders. 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." In particular, Cantu alleges that "[a]t least two of [his] co-defendants were afforded in separate trials, the benefit of an instruction like the one Cantu was denied." The teenagers congregated near a railroad trestle to "fight in" Villareal. Cantu now bases a significant portion of his habeas petition on the argument that the jury should not have seen photographs of the girls' corpses. Death penalty opponents protested the impending execution. Very well done. The murder of State Habeas Record at 261. State Habeas Record at 260 (quoting Tr. Web15K. See 28 U.S.C. Compare TEX. 22 at 395. While the disturbing photographs probably unsettled the jurors, the state courts would not be unreasonable in finding that the complex and textured case against Cantu was not unconstitutionally tainted by the material. Third, Cantu alleges that his trial attorneys should have objected when the prosecution referred to the allegedly inflammatory material during closing arguments (claim twelve). 2006); but see Smith v. Quarterman, 515 F.3d 392, 412 (5th Cir. Ertman died Sunday August 17th at home with his wife Sandy by his side. 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. Tam International phn phi cc sn phm cht lng cao trong lnh vc Chm sc Sc khe Lm p v chi tr em. "[I]t is not enough that an item of evidence viewed alone and unweighed against all the evidence supports" a lesser-included-offense instruction. The state habeas court described that assistant medical examiner's testimony in particular as follows: State Habeas Record at 250-51. Texas inmates have offered various arguments in trying to apply Simmons to Texas' former capital procedure. Also, the state habeas court found that the probative value of the photographs outweighed any prejudicial effect. Roach v. Quarterman, 220 F. App'x 270, 277 (5th Cir. Cantu's second statement fully harmonized with trial testimony. Bush is getting really BAD advice from an staffer and will come to his senses soon. "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." 2 at 27.) Memorials to Ertman and Pea in TC Jester Park: In the background is the railroad bridge where the two were initially attacked. After the murders, Cantu, Jose Medellin, Perez, and Villareal went to Cantu's house and spoke with Cantu's older brother Joe and his wife Christina. Riley v. Cockrell, 339 F.3d 308, 316 (5th Cir. 24 at 868-69, 902, 920-21. 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 They were last seen by friends about 11:15 at night, when they left a friend's apartment to head home, to beat summer curfew at 11:30. . Both girls were sexually assaulted by all but one of the gang members, 14-year-old Venancio "Yuni" Medelln, on a minimum of four occasions. Like 4 of us climbed a tree. The Due Process Clause only provides relief from evidentiary rulings that are "so unduly prejudicial that it render[ed] the trial fundamentally unfair." State Habeas Record at 203. Venancio Medellin described how, when they finished with the rape, Cantu directed the gang to take the young women into the woods. WebThe State of Texas charged Cantu with the capital murder of Jennifer Ertman during a kidnapping, robbery, or aggravated sexual assault. Vol. This prompted Medelln to say the gang "had fun" and that details would appear on the news. Jester Park on Saturday for a memorial service for the girls who were slain, The parents of the murder victims successfully advocated for the State of Texas allowing relatives of victims to have permission to witness executions. The state habeas court's decision in that regard was not contrary to, or an unreasonable application of, federal law. Cantu was again informed of and waived his rights. 20 at 95. O'Brien, 156 F. App'x at 736. Vol. 12.) Id. A jury convicted Cantu of capital murder. Guns, cops, all that shit. Cantu's claim invokes decades of jurisprudence involving Texas' method of placing mitigating evidence before capital juries. 28 at 666-67, 673, 770, 793. 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. 1996). "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. Tr. He told the call taker that the missing girls' bodies could be found near T.C. Vol. the availability of other means of proof and the circumstances unique to each individual case[.]" Baby Jennifer was the Ertmans own personal little miracle. Cantu said the girls "had to die [so] they couldn't identify them." Vol. His initial statement, however, he claimed that he did not join the other gang members as they murdered the two girls in the woods. I think about this case a lot, usually at random times it'll pop back into my head without warning. 22 at 460-61. Vol. This action comes before the Court on Respondent Nathaniel Quarterman's answer and motion for summary judgment. Venancio Medellin has been denied parole five times, most recently in November 2020. But, again, the question must be asked as to whether Cantu's execution is the only penalty that will suffice. 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. Respondent has moved for summary judgment. 23 at 698-99. 21 at 227. This was clearly a job for a lynch mob. Tr. After the Penry I decision in 1989, Texas did not hold a regular legislative session until 1991. 22 at 579, 596-98, 603-06. 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. Tr. See Thacker, 396 F.3d at 617-18; Elizade v. Dretke, 362 F.3d 323, 332-33 (5th Cir. He was born May 29th 1952 in Lansing Michigan to Harold Ertman and Georgia Sue (Hamilton) WebJennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena, ages 14 and 15, were walking home from a party, taking a shortcut to make it home by their 11 p.m. curfew on June 24, 1993. Regardless of whether a rational jury would disbelieve Cantu's second statement, nothing in the record supports a lesser-included-offense instruction for simple murder. 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 (Doc. Vol. The punishment phase evidence showed Cantu to be a violent young man, though the murders were of previosuly unknown level of violence. WebThe graves of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena are about 200 yards apart in Woodlawn Garden of Memories Cemetery. Four days after the murders, the girls' bodies were found in the park during hot weather conditions. They also knew they would have to pass a sexually-oriented business on that route and so decided to take a well-known shortcut down a railroad track and through a city park to Elizabeth's neighborhood. The Fifth Circuit has held that graphic crime scene photographs do not offend due process principles when they "serve [] to illustrate and make more understandable the officers' testimony which described the [scene] and its condition, and the location and condition of the deceased's body and the nature and extent of the injuries to the deceased." 28 at 693-95. Police said the Waltrip High Randy commandeered the news van and went to the scene that was now bustling with police activity. The families of both Ertman and Pea strongly favored the execution(s). The prosecutors said that Medelln never told authorities that he was a Mexican citizen. Although better practice would have been to strike the prosecutor's comment, federal precedent shows that it did not violate Cantu's constitutional rights. Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808, 825 (1991). The other change came from the Texas Department of Corrections which instituted a new policy allowing victims' families the choice and right to view the execution of their perpetrators. 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." My first knowledge of the death of Jennifer was seeing Randy, on the news that evening, screaming at the police officers who were struggling to hold him back, "Does she have blond hair?? Woods v. Johnson, 75 F.3d 1017, 1039 (5th Cir. Woods v. Johnson, 75 F.3d 1017, 1037 (5th Cir. R. CIV. When the police questioned 'Gonzalez', he said that he had made the original call at his 16 year-old wife's urging. Venancio received a 40-year prison sentence. Five individuals were convicted of the assaults, rapes, and murders in five different trials. As noted above, the jury had before it a sufficient vehicle which would allow full and complete consideration of Cantu's mitigating evidence. See TEX. The Supreme Court's subsequent decision in Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005), prohibited executions for crimes committed prior to a defendant's 18th birthday. State Habeas Record at 259-60. The trial court held a suppression hearing. To warrant the lesser-included-offense instruction, however, the evidence of the lesser crime must be of sufficient magnitude to allow a rational jury to convict him only for that offense. Clark v. Johnson, 202 F.3d 760, 764 (5th Cir. When Perez went to shower and clean the blood off him, Jose Medellin began to describe the events of that evening. 22 at 455. The Fifth Circuit, however, has questioned whether the chance that a capital defendant could one day return to society would "predispose [the jury] to impose a death sentence." 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. Cantu claims that the prosecution in his case compounded the statutory deficiencies by asking the jury to weigh his evidence in a manner similar to the Fifth Circuit's rejected constitutional-relevancy test (claim 7). 2004); Woods v. Cockrell, 307 F.3d 353, 360-62 (5th Cir. art. Slate: "Investigators used forensic genealogy to zero in After police interrupted a bank robbery the culprits took Press J to jump to the feed. "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." Dowthitt, 230 F.3d at 757 (quotation omitted). "[T]he idea of `invited response' is used not to excuse improper comments, but to determine their effect on the trial as a whole." In response, Cantu repeatedly kicked the girl in her face and body, dislodging three of her teeth and fracturing several ribs. Easier with a gun which would allow full and complete consideration of Cantu 's claim invokes decades of involving., dislodging three of her teeth and fracturing several ribs jennifer ertman autopsy photos the blood off him, Medellin. Disbelieve Cantu 's brother and sister-in-law about their crime again, the state habeas at. Cao trong lnh vc Chm sc sc khe Lm p v chi Tr em police questioned 'Gonzalez ' he... We have all thought and had dreams of what we would do with a gun a strong reason to his! 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