Cantu emphasizes that the State must afford the jury a vehicle to consider "any aspect of the defendant's character proffered as a basis for the imposition of a sentence less than death." State Habeas Record at 259-60. Tr. 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. 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 suggests: (Doc. Four days after the girls disappeared, a person identifying himself as 'Gonzalez' called the Crimestoppers Tips number. Under Texas law, capital murder differs from murder due to the presence of an aggravating circumstance and a higher intent requirement. The gang members ran and grabbed Elizabeth and pulled her down the incline, off of the tracks. 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."). Vol. 13 at 10.) Make your practice more effective and efficient with Casetexts legal research suite. Ramdass v. Angelone, 530 U.S. 156, 166 (2000). Marsh, 548 U.S. at 174. A State must "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." That some defendants received more than the Constitution requires does not mean the omission of the information was error in Cantu's case. [7] Before the murders, Houston officials had stated that gangs were not a significant issue in the city. 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. Id. Cantu's argument depends on the jury either disbelieving witness testimony that inculpated him of capital murder or viewing portions of the evidence in isolation. The lethal injection was performed at 6:09 pm, and at 6:17 pm, Cantu was officially pronounced dead. Instead, the Supreme Court held that a jury must have before it an effective vehicle to consider anything meeting a "low threshold for relevance," that is, "evidence which tends logically to prove or disprove some fact or circumstance which a fact-finder could reasonably deem to have mitigating value." This federal habeas action follows. The prosecution introduced the allegedly inflammatory material while explaining the condition of the corpses, describing the process by which the police identified the girls' bodies, and verifying the statements made by Cantu and others. Id. State Habeas Record at 261. The jury instructions followed Texas law and cautioned the jury not to speculate on parole during deliberations. 28 at 786-87. Tr. No clearly established Supreme Court precedent calls the Texas statute into question. 1996). Structural Error in Texas' Mitigation Special Issue. This is one that truly, truly haunts me. After the Penry I decision in 1989, Texas did not hold a regular legislative session until 1991. DOES SHE HAVE BLOND HAIR?!!?". Vol. . He raped Jennifer and was later sentenced to 40 years for aggravated sexual assault, which was the maximum sentence for a juvenile. Ertman Pe a. 2) Your immigration ideas are either traitorous or you have sold out to big business over consumers. While in state and federal court Cantu has mentioned prejudice flowing from the crime-scene video, his complaints have focused most strongly on the admission of allegedly prejudicial photographs. In 2004, however, the Supreme Court rejected the Fifth Circuit's constitutional-relevancy test as a "restrictive gloss on Penry I" Tennard v. Dretke, 542 U.S. 274, 283 (2004). Vol. 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. Habeas relief centers on whether "the admission was a crucial, highly significant factor in the defendant's conviction." Slate: "Investigators used forensic genealogy to zero in After police interrupted a bank robbery the culprits took Press J to jump to the feed. Tr. No mercy for the bastard. Our leaders keep telling us to go back to sleep, its an isolated incident, we get more in benefits than they could ever take from us. As the prosecution introduced the various exhibits into evidence, trial counsel reurged their state-law objections. She was thrown to the ground by gang members Peter Cantu and Derrick Sean O'Brien. Vol. "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." The teenagers congregated near a railroad trestle to "fight in" Villareal. 2254(d)(1). 2. Cantu summarizes the mitigating evidence he presented at trial as follows: "he suffered a learning disability and severe dysthmia or depression, leading to his placement in special education classes and to significant emotional disturbances in his daily life." 2008) (quoting Rogers, 848 F.2d at 608). CODE CRIM. 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. 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." Tr. None of this is to excuse his past criminality nor to endorse the lenient punishments that were previously imposed. Texas law now allows a capital defendant to request a jury instruction regarding parole eligibility. Like 4 of us climbed a tree. Under those standards, the Court will evaluate Cantu's ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims. The State used substantially the same language when prosecuting O'Brien for his role in the Ertman/Pena murders. WebOn June 24, 1993, Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman from Houston, Texas were raped and murdered. . Cantu complains that the Equal Protection Clause should have allowed the same information to come before his jury. 23 at 698-99. Trial counsel objected that the material violated TEX. The trial court did not violate the Constitution by refusing to give a simple murder instruction. He then elaborated that he had raped both girls. Tr. Clerk's Record at 278-79. Rule 22(b). Memorials to Ertman and Pea in TC Jester Park: In the background is the railroad bridge where the two were initially attacked. 28 U.S.C. Tr. 1996). The confessions of the gang members that were used at trial indicated that there was never less than 2 men on each of the girls at any one time and that the girls were repeatedly raped orally, anally and vaginally for the entire hour. . Vol. PROC. Jennifer Ertman's dad, Randy Ertman, was about to give an interview regarding the missing girls to a local television reporter when the call came over a cameraman's police scanner that two bodies had been found. Cantu also unsuccessfully requested a jury instruction on parole. Respondent has filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that Cantu's claims do not merit federal habeas corpus relief. 28 at 758, 760. I'm going to show up to his parole. 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. . Photographs "must have some probative value [which is not] substantially outweighed by its inflammatory nature." I hope his life is, was and remains a misery. 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. In Penry v. Johnson, 532 U.S. 782, 804 (2001) (" Penry II"), the Supreme Court found that the supplemental mitigating instructions given before 1991 amounted to an "ineffective and illogical" mechanism for giving effect to mitigating evidence. Trial testimony showed that the police took Cantu to the homicide division office after his arrest. Cantu himself escorted Ms. Ertman into the woods. In the alternative, the state habeas court essentially considered whether the challenged comments "so infected the trial with unfairness as to make the resulting conviction a denial of due process." R. EVID. Gang rapists/murderers are a special kind of sub species of vermin. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255 (1986) ("The evidence of the nonmovant is to be believed, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in his favor."). 2 at 18.) I believe only non violent offenders are capable of and deserving of rehabilitation. Entry No. See Smith v. Cockrell, 311 F.3d 661, 668 (5th Cir. The Court will review the context of closing argument to provide context to the allegedly objectionable prosecutorial statements. 21 at 223-24. Texas has already executed O'Brien and Medellin. Respondent asks this Court not to apply Beck to Cantu's claim because, unlike the defendant in that case, Cantu faced a situation where the jury chose between acquittal and a capital conviction, not acquittal and an automatic death sentence. Peter Cantu then returned, and divided valuables that had been stolen from the girls. Cantu seeks to extend Simmons to Texas' former sentencing statute. 28 at 787). 28 at 768-69. Id. At the time of these crimes, Cantu was 28 days past his 18th birthday. This case is ripe for adjudication. PENAL CODE 19.02 (murder). The state habeas court found that "the State's punishment argument referring to the admitted photographs and the injuries shown in such photographs is a summary of the evidence concerning the circumstances of the offense and the complainant's and Elizabeth Pena's resulting injuries, and such argument is a reasonable inference that such photographs are unforgettable to the jury." 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. Persuasive trial testimony confirmed Cantu's role not only in the kidnapping and sexual assault, but in the murder of the girls. Here, the state habeas court found: Federal due process concerns are not coextensive with state evidentiary rules. 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