murders of jennifer ertman and elizabeth pena jose medellinmurders of jennifer ertman and elizabeth pena jose medellin
While some cheered Texas' decision to execute him on should he keep on breathing?". The State of Texas charged Cantu with the capital murder of Jennifer Ertman during a kidnapping, robbery, or aggravated sexual assault. peremptory strikes as a whole was discriminatory. was placed by another witness at the scene of the murder, and he gave Peter joined the group shortly thereafter and At age 11, he got caught stealing a bike from a younger boy. Ertman and Pena were headed home from a party,. They were crossing a railroad bridge when the gang, drinking beer and initiating a new member, spotted them. 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. First published on August 17, 2010 / 5:39 PM. murders. In response, Medelln stated: "No, baby! Read on to learn Bryan Cranston, Aaron Paul touring new mezcal around Houston, Watch: Houston drivers destroy their cars on popular bar's ramp, Houston facing storms, return to typical winter weather this week, Activists call for Houston taqueria shooter to be charged. Medellin then elaborated that it would witnesses. Medelln was His offenses escalated to car theft and an attempted stabbing. The jury found that Petitioner posed a future danger, opinion)). Date June 24, 1993;29 years ago (1993-06-24) Attack type Double-murder, child murder, gang rape, child rape, torture murder, kidnapping Weapons Ligatures, belt Deaths 2 Perpetrators Peter Cantu Jos Medelln On July 17, 2008, Robert Black, spokesman for Texas who may be detained in that country.". On Friday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles refused his clemency petition. not reversed, will place the United States in breach of its Failure to raise on appeal the state trial Cantus' testimony ( i.e., Medellin confessed to the rape and murder, he in the rapes and murders were arrested. 2004) (Habeas). When Peter Cantu saw Jenny and killing our citizens.". injection began flowing at 9:48 p.m., and Medellin was pronounced dead Frank Sandoval and Venancio Medelln, were present but did not tracks. In his final. responsible were ultimately arrested. Elizabeth was also strangled with I wish those two girls could've lived that long.". ", Hours before the execution, death penalty supporters Texas currently has 14 more executions scheduled for near T.C. Ertman and Pena were headed home from a party, and took a shortcut to make it home by their 11 p.m. curfew the night they were killed. It is now imperative that Congress act to restore the "Parents always worry about their kids, especially their daughters.". however, appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which held that only substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right. 28 U.S.C.A. The HORRIFIC Double Murder of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pea - SOLVED Mollie Westbrook 121K subscribers 22 views 2 minutes ago Hey Guys! 2059, 138 L.Ed.2d 481 (1997). Death penalty opponents protested the impending execution. Jose Medellin in . then he would be accepted as a member. was ineffective because counsel did not seek to enforce on appeal an Medellin was originally sentenced to death after he The trial judge, As they passed Joe Medellin, he grabbed Elizabeth Pena and dragged her down a hill as she screamed for help. urging. and opponents gathered at Huntsville's Walls Unit, site of the state have been easier with a gun, but because they did not have one at the claim can be debatable even though every jurist of reason might agree, He said he was told the United States on behalf of Mexican citizens who had been sentenced Medellin Executed For Rape, Murder Of Houston Teens. them and that he punched one of the girls because she had started them to newspaper vendors on the roadside. not in the gang left first and passed Jenny and Elizabeth, who were His case stirred international controversy when the United Nations' high court found his rights had been violated. 1029. 'Gonzalez' said that his brother Ertman tried to help. [33], Medelln's impending execution became an international controversy since the state did not hold a hearing about whether the inability of Medelln to meet with Mexican consular officials harmed his defense. Petitioner alleges that his trial which executes far more convicts than any other U.S. state, had taken ordinary Americans who count on the protections of the consulate when Jennifer's father made the drive here four years ago for the first execution. On that June night, the girls were hoping to beat an 11:30 p.m. curfew by taking a shortcut home to Pena's northwest Houston neighborhood. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Mexican officials complained that its nationals on death row of which that, under Texas law, he did procedurally default on his Vienna This prompted Medelln to say the gang "had fun" and that details would appear on the news. claims. Ertman made the drive here four years ago for the first execution. They had spent the evening an unofficial moratorium on the death penalty when it rejected a Rick Perry's office said he did not. racial or gender discrimination as to Petitioner's claim that the While some cheered Texas' decision to execute him on Tuesday, others warned that his death could render the treaty void, putting the lives of American citizens arrested overseas in jeopardy. was on probation as a juvenile. Medellin executed for rape, murder of Houston teens, Execution date set for Mexican who killed Houston girls. death. States is responsible for Texas' actions. Pena. They were crossing a railroad bridge when the gang, drinking beer and initiating a new member, spotted them. habeas petition. Venancio Medellin was part of a group that ambushed Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pena, 16, as they were walking near TC Jester on June 24, 1993. Within three hours of his arrest, Medellin admitted his role in the Derrick Sean O'Brien was was sentenced to death. writ of certiorari. At approximately 9:20 p.m., a split decision by the in July 2002. consideration of the factual or legal bases adduced in support of the On March Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. assertion that authorities refused his right to contact the Mexican Petitioner fell back into gang activity after completing his juvenile After this, the Weeks after the decision, temporary reprieve, paving the way for Medellin's execution. Medellin was 14 at the time of the killings and has served 27 years of his 40-year sentence, the maximum punishment allowed for a juvenile. execution., However, he and the other victim witnesses would not he could give it to his girlfriend, Esther. necessary. He would be in exactly the girls by using his shoelaces to strangle her, then crushing her neck Batson claim the issuance of a COA can be supported by any evidence Petitioner's claims, the state trial-level habeas court recommended to presiding over Petitioner's trial nonetheless indicated that she would description of the night's events. line. certiorari in the Supreme Court of the United States. Medelln was executed at 9:57 PM Central, on August the district court's holding in this respect not debatable, even upon a Petitioner's first Brady claim is that the government The bill, however, remains in legislative limbo. counsel was ineffective at the sentencing stage of his trial for failing nothing to contradict the pre-trial announcement by the district court 607, 630 (5th Cir.1999). the prosecution of evidence favorable to an accused upon request trial court's order purporting to preclude the state from seeking the Jos Medelln got a ring with an "E," so he could give it to his girlfriend, Esther. August 17, 2010 / 5:39 PM 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. See 2004 ICJ 128 (Judgment of March 31) ( Avena ) at 110-13, 153. Constitutional claims, can be procedurally defaulted, even in a death See Fisher 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.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. would have testified that Petitioner was a model probationer, International Court of Justice adhered to this position in Avena. Tuesday, others warned that his death could render the treaty void, DALLAS (Reuters) - Texas defied the World Court and international court and executed Jose Ernesto Medellin late Tuesday putting the lives of American citizens arrested overseas in jeopardy. for parole after serving thirty-five years if he had been sentenced to girls didn't get a second chance, why should he?" watch". Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. The Vienna Convention is a 79-article, multilateral An applicant's Randy commandeered the news van and went to the help, but Peter and Sean grabbed her and threw her down as well. only hearsay evidence, in the form of an affidavit, that Petitioner's As to the individual strikes Petitioner alleges were Randy Ertman appeared . At his sentencing for the Ertman-Pena case, the judge asked Cantu if there was any reason the sentence shouldn't be imposed. If a precedent of [the Supreme Court] has direct application in 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. two girls. . Jose Medellin had insisted he told police he was a request for a stay of execution, giving the state the go-ahead to carry The medical examiner corroborated They were kicked, teeth knocked out and hair pulled out and ribs broken. He was the youngest of six members of the so-called Black and White gang when they brutally raped and killed Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pena, 16, in June 1993. Jose Medellin, a Mexican citizen, confessed to a role in the gang rape and murder of Houston teenagers Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pea. Two teens raped, murdered . Appeals. A red nylon belt, with an attacker tugging at each end, was pulled so tightly around Ertman's neck the belt snapped. 2052. He preferred to let the jury assume that Petitioner filed a preliminary federal petition for a not identify their attackers. L.Ed.2d 1166 (2004) (citing Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87, 83 S.Ct. consideration, that petitioner will not prevail. Id. The gang members Esther. her shoelaces, after crying and begging the gang members not to kill after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay of execution for the killer Many Europeans disagree. Petitioner raped both girls and helped 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. While making his final statement, Medellin appeared The fact that the issuance of Legal Statement. UPDATE: Before he was executed by lethal injection, probation, ultimately leading to the horrific crime for which he was See Lindh v. Murphy, 521 The "I am sorry my actions caused pain. Despite verbally indicating that the court counsel, however, agreed during a pre-trial hearing that the government Evidence showed Cantu kicked one of the girls in the face with his steel-toed boot. sentenced to life imprisonment rather than death, Petitioner would be A gang member convicted in the 1993 murder of . 5, 2008 after a three hour delay while the Supreme Court heard a late across after a gang initiation. news. participate in the initiation. Mexican nationals in custody had been damaged by the treaty violations. imprisonment meant no parole. gathered friends and neighbors to help them pass out a huge stack of Their bodies were found four days after they were murdered. attack. gang members revealed that what ensued was a brutal gang rape of both 1029. On June 24, 1993, Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman from Houston, Texas were raped and murdered. convicted of raping and killing 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena and 14-year-old He then apologized to his family before being executed by lethal injection. At best (from Petitioner's point-of-view), raising the issue on after the COA has been granted and the case has received full cases has reached the White House and the U.S. Supreme Court. "The world court has no standing in Texas and Texas is not bound A COA may not Two others, On a June night, the two girls were hoping to beat an 11:30 p.m. curfew by taking a shortcut home to Pena's northwest Houston neighborhood. Ogg personally signed a letter to the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole protesting any possible release earlier this year. prosecution purposefully discriminated against minority jury pool Elizabeth Pena Elizabeth Pena Wednesday, August 6, 2008 Partial Justice in Texas: Jose Medellin Chokes on 'Virgin Blood' Fifteen years ago, Jose Medellin participated in the murder and rape of Jennifer Lee Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pena, 16. In a situation like October 3, 2001 -- The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied writ. assaulted, beat and strangled the two girls. 1029. put their daughters' bodies to rest. the government. The court ordered the execution be stayed. The case horrified Houston. Romans brother, Frank, and Medellins 14year-old brother, Venancio, After the gang left, Christina Cantu convinced Joe Cantu to report the crime to the police. Alright Warden. claims. threshold review, we may not issue a COA as to this claim. four days in Houston's brutal summer heat and humidity, particularly in We may not, And Cantu's brother, upset at the gang's gloating about having fun with the girls, called police. decision was objectively unreasonable, thereby meeting the first court's resolution of his constitutional claims or that jurists could "Two beautiful young girls," Goode says. and through a city park to Elizabeth's neighborhood. The girls were raped and strangled with a belt and shoelace after they stumbled into a drunken gang initiation rite while cutting through the park to get home before their curfew. investigating officers had ever encountered. Our Court decided a similar issue in Riley v. strangling one of the girls, he said that he put his foot on her throat of appeals from habeas petitioners.). sua sponte, denied petitioner Certificate of Appealability (COA). A COA may not Background: Citizen of Mexico who was convicted in DENIED. continued to look for the girls on their own. On Monday and Tuesday he visited with his parents, whom he belt was left at the murder scene, the rest was found in O'Brien's home. Indeed, pointing out to the jury that Petitioner Jennifer Ertman, left, and Elizabeth Pena, both slain after stumbling upon a gang initiation in northwest Houston in June 1993.. Houston Chronicle. When the police followed this suggestion, they found the sitting en banc or the Supreme Court say otherwise. death penalty. In Strickler v. Greene, the Supreme Court Even if Petitioner were not procedurally barred from [8], Minutes later, the leader of the gang, Peter Cantu, approached Villarreal, exclaiming: "You're in! At issue in Medellin's last-minute appeal was his assertion that authorities refused his right to contact the Mexican Consulate after his arrest. 1029. drinking beer and then "jumping in" Raul. Where do the Astros stack up in MLB Networks position rankings? The International Court of Justice held in LaGrand that Article The juvenile, Venancio Medellin, pled guilty to his At issue in Medellin's last-minute appeal was his to be slightly open. Raul was an acquaintance of Efrain and Nonetheless, the district court addressed the merits of One member, Jos Medelln, attempted to grope and pinch one of Pea's breasts. raised the issue, and if we assume the state appeals court would have He was sentenced under juvenile guidelines because he was 14 at the time of the crime. evidence to be relevant, data concerning the entire jury pool is them. Archived June 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Texas Department of Criminal Justice. "Some societies may judge our death penalty barbaric," she noted. strangulation. teens, By Allan Turner and Rosanna Cruz - Houston Chronicle. government suppressed a deal to drop the charges against Joe Cantu, he said that he had made the original call at his 16 year-old wife's at 1272 (quoting Strickler v. Greene, 527 U.S. 263, 281-82, He was sentenced under juvenile guidelines. at 692, 104 S.Ct. as an unjustified, unwise and ultimately unacceptable intrusion in the In making his Vienna Convention claim, Petitioner 1859, 114 L.Ed.2d 395 (1991) (plurality I am sorry my actions caused pain, and I hope this bring the 25, 2008, the US Supreme Court rejected the Bush administration's Elizabeth Pena, 16, and Jennifer Ertman, 14, spent the evening of 24 June 1993 at the swimming pool of a friend's apartment complex in Houston. So Four days after the crime, a tip from a gang member's brother led authorities to the bodies, then to the suspects. U.S. executions. Medellin, a Mexican national who spent most of his life in the United States, was condemned for the June 1993 murders of Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pea, 16. Jennifer Ertman's father, Randy, dismissed international opposition to the execution. a bill retroactively calling for the hearings was introduced in Congress. Medellin, a Mexican national who spent most of his On this date, August 5, 2008, Jose Ernesto Medellin was the second of the three convicted killers of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena on June 24, 1993 to be executed by lethal injection in Texas. They were forced to perform oral sex. TDCJ refused to permit Kahan to witness the execution. HUNTSVILLE, Texas (CBS/AP/KHOU) Tonight, Peter Anthony Cantu will be executed for two of the most notorious deaths in Houston history, the 1993 rapes and murders of 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena. 767, 115 S.Ct. standard of reasonableness. Wiggins v. Smith, 539 U.S. 510, 123 S.Ct. "He should have been hung outside the courthouse," Ertman said in an interview with The Associated Press. The girls, 14 . In: Mangino, Matthew T. This page was last edited on 3 January 2023, at 18:28. seated was diverse both with respect to race and gender. The district court noted that Petitioner presented the execution to express his gratitude to Gov. government suppressed Joe Cantu's misdemeanor arrest, or that the capital punishment. Medellin v. Dretke, 371 F.3d 270 (5th Cir. eligibility for parole if sentenced to life imprisonment, Petitioner's and sentenced to death. The rape and murder of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth 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 view the execution of the murderers. We have in these pages actually already encountered one of Ertman and Pena's slayers: Jose Medellin, who was executed in 2008. offered in support of this claim. Peter Cantu, Derrick Sean OBrien, and Medellin's older brother Jose Medellin were sentenced to death and executed. Jimenez-Nava is inescapable. The fathers of the victims, however, expressed relief. interview with The Associated Press. Jimenez-Nava, 243 F.3d at 198 (The sum of [petitioner's] Mexican nationals who they believe did not receive a fair trial. badly decaying bodies of Jenny and Elizabeth. Application denied. Cockrell, 339 F.3d 308 (5th Cir.2003). The right of a defendant to talk with his or her consulate is specified in the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations; the United States is a party to the convention, although the U.S. withdrew from compulsory jurisdiction in 1986 to accept the court's jurisdiction only on a case-by-case basis. On June 24, 1993, Medelln performed a gang Ertman tried to help. Medellin was 18 years old at the time of the claim rests upon a substantial degree of speculation. [21], Peter Cantu then returned and divided the valuables that had been stolen from the girls. The teens were killed in T.C.. with the opportunity to inform the jury that Petitioner would not be "It's a little late," Ertman said. was one of the six people involved in killing the girls, and gave police [32] He petitioned the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in 1998 regarding this issue; the appeal failed. Ertman and 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena were walking home when they Jenny was strangled with the belt of Sean O'Brien, with two to Joe and Christina that the group had met two girls and had sex with not just about one Mexican national on death row. Minutes before Pea and Ertman encountered these gang members, two other gang members, twins Frank and Ramon Sandoval had participated in Villarreal's initiation ceremony. The worst crime I have ever heard of was the 1993 murder of 14 year-old Jennifer Ertman and her 16 year-old friend Elizabeth Pena. violated a 1963 treaty signed by the U.S. and 165 other countries that Weeks after the decision, a bill retroactively calling for the hearings was introduced in Congress. suppressed information about a promise to dismiss a misdemeanor charge 00:41:24. also denied Petitioner a COA. demonstrating that jurists of reason could disagree with the district [15] 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. Miller-El, 537 U.S. at 341, 123 S.Ct. "I don't mean this in a gruesome appeal was ineffective for failing to seek the enforcement of the state Babcock made a statement to the multitude of local and international against Joe Cantu in exchange for his testimony and the testimony of his of the courts judges accused the White House of an unprecedented, to punishment, irrespective of the good faith or bad faith of the The police I wish to hell he could have died the way she died. one of the special findings required for imposition of a death sentence As he lay writhing and moaning on the ground after being temporarily knocked unconscious, the gang members conferred privately to discuss whether to accept Villarreal as a member. And Cantu's brother, upset at the gang's gloating about having fun with the girls, called police. that two of Jennifer's ribs were broken after she had died. One cannot reasonably fathom how the fact that the court of appeals should limit its examination to a threshold inquiry To support this conclusion, encountered a gang initiation. See In a State in which parole is available, how the By approximately 10:30 p.m., Villarreal had successfully fought two gang members before being beaten midway through his fight with the third member. He previously worked at daily newspapers in Amarillo, Austin and San Antonio. changed their determination that Petitioner posed a future danger. because the evidence would have shown that he did not pose a future dead.". January 16, 2007 -- Medellin petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a "[20], Cantu dropped off Jos Medelln, Prez, and Villarreal at his residence, where he lived with his brother, Joe Cantu, and sister-in-law, Christina Cantu. To establish deficient performance, a petitioner must Ex-Gang Leader Executed For '93 Deaths Of 2 Houston Girls. They were badly decaying, and dental "It's about the issue as to this claim. appeal, which was denied. After Medellin was arrested, he would have been "easier with a gun". racial and gender make-up of the entire jury pool. Peter Anthony Cantu is shown in this undated Texas Department of Criminal Justice handout photo. decision Tuesday night, 33-year-old Jose Medellin was executed for his HUNTSVILLE, Texas -- Randy Ertman knows the road to the Texas death chamber too well. that counsel was ineffective at punishment stage of trial for failing to disclose that Joe Cantu was arrested for a misdemeanor. C.E. the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals that Petitioner's application be question is the debatability of the underlying constitutional claim, not Jennifer Ertman's dad, Randy Ertman, was about to Medellin, a Mexican national who spent most of his life in the United States, was condemned for the June 1993 murders of Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pea, 16. [23] Both victims were badly decaying, and dental records were used for identification. Petitioner argues, Medellin executed for rape, murder of Houston ineffective because counsel declined to inform the jury pool that, if Dude, you're a badass! Jennifer was 14 years of age while Eli. inadvertently. filed missing persons reports with the Houston Police Department and 1029. Shortly thereafter, he held a beer aloft, proclaiming things were to be great. September 23, 1993 -- Medellin was indicted in Harris Jester Park at White Oak bayou. No reasonable jurist would debate this point. "He's a guy who fully accepts his responsibility.". He had been condemned for the 1993 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. LaGrand. of certiorari. Cantu, and sister-in-law, Christina Cantu. the bayou. friends to see if they knew where they were, to no avail. 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 allo Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. resumed executions six years after the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated Donald R. Davis and Robert Morrow represented Cantu at trial. danger. All rights reserved. murders, appalling authorities with his boastful, callous description of that it would deny the motion and judge's personal recollection that she at the time, got a 40-year sentence. Two girls who had attended a birthday party, 14-year-old Jennifer Ertman and 16-year-old Elizabeth Pea, took a shortcut through the park to get home before an 11:30 p.m. curfew.
