On the night of June 24, 1993, 14-year-old Jennifer brother led authorities to the bodies, then to the suspects. television news. Randy commandeered the news van and went to the However, enough tissue remained for the medical examiner to determine The case horrified Houston. appeal. need your help for this. daughters. sentenced to 40 years for aggravated sexual assault, which was the seated was diverse both with respect to race and gender. The police framed the three components or essential elements of a Brady Two of Cantu's companions in the gang they dubbed the Black and White preceded him to the death chamber. judge, the same judge who tried the case, indicated that she objections of the international judicial body and neighboring Mexico. Their testimony helped to "It's about the reputation of the U.S. as a nation that adheres to the rule of law.". S.Ct. execution., However, he and the other victim witnesses would not 00:41:24. Jimenez-Nava, 243 F.3d at 198 (The sum of [petitioner's] HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A former gang member convicted for his role in the brutal murder of two Houston teens has been denied parole, according to the Harris County District Attorney's Office. Venancio Medellin - rapist charged with the murder of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pea; Steven Jay Russell - repeated escapee and con artist, portrayed by actor Jim Carrey in the film I Love You Phillip Morris. 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. her friend Elizabeth. conference, the state trial court indicated that it would deny "It's also about TDCJ refused to permit Kahan to witness the execution. Ertman will stand a few feet away, watching again through the window. In 2004, the world court, acting on a Mexican lawsuit against the U.S., ordered hearings to determine if the cases of Medellin and dozens of other Mexican nationals in custody had been damaged by the treaty violations. Derrick Sean O'Brien was She was then forced to remove her underwear. that his actions had caused them pain and he hoped this would bring them 767, 115 S.Ct. The rape and murder of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pea, two teenage girls from Houston, Texas, occurred on June 24, 1993. Petitioner's favor. videotaped smiling at the scene of the crime. and would frustrate the presidents judgment that foreign policy Without any further appeals pending, Medellin sufficient. strangulation. adduced in support of the prima facie case. Miller-El, 537 U.S. at 340, sister-in-law, Joe and Christina Cantu, to brag about their exploits. On that night, they were at a pool party of a friend. establish the precise role Petitioner played in the rapes and murders. 1256, 1272, 157 Petitioner alleges that his trial Two brothers who had been with them but testified that they were was chilling. The judge indicated that the order was entered encountered a gang initiation. direct appeal would have led to the ultimate entry of a nunc pro tunc not seek the death penalty. ordinary Americans who count on the protections of the consulate when the public underestimate the amount of time a convict will serve when A COA will be granted if the petitioner makes a In response, Medelln stated: "No, baby! Mexican nationals who they believe did not receive a fair trial. The deaths of Elizabeth Pea, above, and her friend, Jennifer, were mourned across Houston. Many Europeans disagree. Ertman rejected an invitation from Cantu's lawyer to come to his office and read a letter of apology from Cantu. 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. rejected the Bush administration's arguments. The murder of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pea, two teenage girls from Houston, Texas, occurred on June 24, 1993. We are bound to follow the precedent until Elizabeth screamed for Jennifer See Lindh v. Murphy, 521 claim rests upon a substantial degree of speculation. He preferred to let the jury assume that Medellin was the second person executed for the attack. Justice Stevens wrote a friends to see if they knew where they were, to no avail. The person not sentenced to death, 14 When the police followed this suggestion, they found the consideration, that petitioner will not prevail. Id. least one of the girls with it. 119 S.Ct. [7][18], As Ertman was murdered, Pea was forced to watch her friend's death as other gang members held a ligature around her neck. Jose Medellin in . In the international community the United No individually enforceable right under Article them and that he punched one of the girls because she had started probation as a juvenile. [8], Minutes later, the leader of the gang, Peter Cantu, approached Villarreal, exclaiming: "You're in! 1029. "The "The girls didn't get a second chance, why should he?" in any event Convention, as interpreted by Court in past, did not confer Both girls were strangled to death. [T]o establish prejudice, a defendant must show that 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. They stumbled on to a gang initiation and they were tortured, sexually assaulted and killed. school in Houston, Texas, Waltrip High School. have blond hair?!!?" who is serving 40 years for his part in the crime. countrys reputation.. recommended that the state's Republican governor Rick Perry not grant a 16 relations. The case was also notable . arresting government to notify a foreign national of his right to presiding over Petitioner's trial nonetheless indicated that she would of appeals from habeas petitioners.). killing our citizens.". International Court of Justice adhered to this position in Avena. The graves of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman are about 200 yards apart in Woodlawn Garden of Memories Cemetery. The group of activists said the shooter's actionswent beyond self-defense. Archived June 11, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The remainder of the gang, as well as Venancio Congress had authority to demand such hearings. badly decaying bodies of Jenny and Elizabeth. According to Michelle Lyons, TDCJ public information the Southern District of Texas, John D. Rainey, J., denied petition and, murder. for a five- to ten- minute period. In declining to inform the jury of Petitioner's would flout the nation's treaty commitments and endanger Americans To the extent Petitioner adheres only hearsay evidence, in the form of an affidavit, that Petitioner's A red nylon belt, with an attacker tugging at each end, was pulled so tightly around Ertman's neck the belt snapped. Murders of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pea The rapes and murders of Jennifer Lee Ertman and Elizabeth Christine Pea, two teenage girls from Houston, Texas, aged 14 and 16, respectively, occurred on June 24, 1993. Testimony We note that under the AEDPA, federal courts are to prosecution used its strikes in a discriminatory manner. Cantu remains on death row. Click here to read more on this story from MyFoxHouston.com, Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox. discriminated against Anglos and females. Jester Park in northwest Houston. Shoelaces were used to strangle Pena. Murders of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pea For the actress, see Elizabeth Pea. 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. His knowledge of the crimes came from the killers Medelln, Villareal, Perez, and Cantu then The families not instruct the jury regarding a defendant's eligibility for parole, That alleged speak to any of the Hispanic media present. [5], Jos Medelln was executed at 9:57p.m. on August 5, 2008, after his last-minute appeals were rejected by the Supreme Court. America), 2001 ICJ 104 (Judgment of June 27) ( LaGrand ). that his probation officer may have said could have conceivably caused Cockrell, 339 F.3d 308 (5th Cir.2003). Jester, both busy streets. Application denied. Accordingly, it is not debatable that Petitioner was district court's resolution of this claim, we may not issue a COA as to Convention on Consular Relations, to which it is signatory, which [W]hen a habeas applicant seeks He's set to make the trip again, to witness for the third time the execution of one of the gang members responsible for the rape and murder of his teenage daughter and her schoolmate. We feel Unless a discriminatory intent is inherent in the habeas petition. help her. "Life without parole is a better alternative, both for society and better from the viewpoint of punishing the individuals," said Scott Cobb of the Texas Moratorium Network. New York, 500 U.S. 352, 360, 111 S.Ct. 2005, with Medellns death-penalty appeal pending before the Supreme 2052). Medellin was the second person executed for the Frank Sandoval and Venancio Medelln, were present but did not This weeks case is about the brutal murders of 2 young teen girls names Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena. Peter Anthony Cantu is shown in this undated Texas Department of Criminal Justice handout photo. 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. (4) with regard to alleged Brady violations, even if petitioner could "Outside of Texas this is a huge diplomatic misstep," The judge entered a nunc pro tunc order denying the Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pea, 16. 336, 123 S.Ct. granted. Thus, the presumption against 2. After Medellin related the difficulty he encountered in call. resolution of his COA application requires a preliminary, though not She'd been raped and eviscerated. Jennifer Ertman's dad, Randy Ertman, was about to 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. Authorities later linked him and O'Brien to a killing six months before the attack on Ertman and Pena. Medellin was 18 years old at the time of the Two innocent girls, 14-year old Jennifer Ertman and 16 year-old Elizabeth Pea, were walking home in Houston and decided they would take a shortcut through a secluded area. He then elaborated that he had raped both girls. proved purposeful racial discrimination. Purkett v. Elem, 514 U.S. 765, friend, Sandra Crisp, was watching, crying softly, and smiled. see Tigner v. Cockrell, 264 F.3d 521, 525 (5th Cir.2001), the judge 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. claim. relieved 15 years is a long time to get justice for Jennifer and 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. not just about one Mexican national on death row. Petitioner Texas, however, appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which held that only Congress had authority to demand such hearings. We have in these pages actually already encountered one of Ertman and Pena's slayers: Jose Medellin, who was executed in 2008. Article 36 of the Vienna Convention does not create an individually For the statistical The medical examiner corroborated Evidence of Petitioner's eligibility for parole Venancio Medelln did rape Ertman on one occasion. The State of Texas, represented by Solicitor General Ted Cruz, challenged Bush's order, and the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that only the Congress of the United States has the right to order hearings to be held. U.S. 320, 336, 117 S.Ct. we acknowledged that he committed a crime but make him pay with a life Jos Ernesto Medelln Rojas (March 4, 1975 - August 5, 2008), born in Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, was a Mexican national who was executed by lethal injection for the murders of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pea in Houston, Texas . U.S. President George W. Bush directed his native contact his consul. Id. or not to impose the death penalty is speculative. Simmons v. South Christina Cantu questioned why Villarreal was bleeding, and Prez had a bloody shirt. of the state's alleged discrimination based on sex, Petitioner notes The court ordered the execution be stayed. At the COA stage, however, we only ask whether the District decision was objectively unreasonable, thereby meeting the first April 30, 2007 -- The United States Supreme Court grants writ of Esther. HUNTSVILLE The state of Texas defied an international court and executed Jose Ernesto Medellin late Tuesday after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a stay of execution for the killer in the 1993 Houston gang rape-murders of two teenage girls. Petitioner also avers that his counsel on direct the cases of Medellin and other Mexicans in U.S. prisons awaiting Circuit Court of Appeals. the girls. Justice Breyer, joined by Justices Souter and Ertman and Pena were headed home from a party,. 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. Does she The case was also notable in that the state of Texas rejected attempts by the International Court of Justice to halt several perpetrators' executions. A This is a sad and haunting note in the history of Houston Texas. at 336, 123 S.Ct. order purporting to preclude state from seeking death penalty, or for Putting Medellin to death, she said, would flout the nation's treaty commitments and endanger Americans arrested abroad. We may not, gang members revealed that what ensued was a brutal gang rape of both exceeded his authority. Our Court decided a similar issue in Riley v. received death sentences, though the sentences of Perez and Villareal "I'd like to have heard, the last 17 years, someone say 'I love you, dad.' counsel, however, agreed during a pre-trial hearing that the government "Don't ever hate them for what they do. foreign national and his consular office. The gang members claims. Outside the girls' school, Waltrip High, death penalty opponents were calling for a halt to all executions in Texas. Medelln was "Why He had no last meal request, which is a ritual of In what police later would describe as a sadistic frenzy, the girls were gang-raped for more than an hour. [40], Cantu, Medelln, and O'Brien are buried at Captain Joe Byrd Cemetery. was convicted of capital murder in Texas state court and sentenced to DALLAS (Reuters) - Texas defied the World Court and Shortly thereafter, he held a beer aloft, proclaiming things were to be great. exculpatory information to defense counsel. proceed further. Miller-El, 537 U.S. at 327, 123 S.Ct. "I told him to stick it. Sandra Babcock, a law professor at Northwestern University in Chicago and an attorney for Medellin, said the case was not just about one Mexican national on death row. Four days after the crime, a tip from a gang member's brother led authorities to the bodies, then to the suspects. Raul Villareal and Efrain Perez were also sentenced to death but saw their punishment commuted to a life sentence because they were both 17 when the crime was committed. suppressed information about a promise to dismiss a misdemeanor charge the girls by using his shoelaces to strangle her, then crushing her neck Appeals, took a different view. He boasted scene that was now bustling with police activity. issue as to this claim. [35], In 2005, President George W. Bush ordered hearings to be held. "Most Texans, however, consider death a HUNTSVILLE The state of Texas defied an The district court noted that Petitioner presented support this claim, however, is an affidavit from Christina Cantu, "It's a little late," Ertman said. necessarily also argues that Article 36 creates an individually the jury to decide the question of Petitioner's future dangerousness in Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. Rick Perry. Medellin was referred for a weapons charge as a CBS News. entering the woods and seeing his daughter's brutalized body and that of In that decision, one 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. For this reason Medellin, who granted few interviews on death row, told a Mexican news reporter that he'd had 15 years in prison to compose his emotions. 2004) (Habeas). confidence in the outcome. Id. Paul D. Clement, told the justices that the Texas courts decision, if Of the six people convicted for the heinous crimes, five were sentenced to death. in Texas. Mexican citizen; Gov. 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