Turns out the friend I was with was a serial rapist. Seventeen years after the crimes, Peter Anthony Cantu was executed on August 17, 2010. 20 at 90; Clerk's Record at 104. With respect to the lesser offenses of kidnapping or sexual assault, Cantu's depends on the jury viewing significant evidence with a heavy dose of skepticism. The prosecution's closing argument responded to the argument that Cantu was a child who should not be killed: "The State has brought to you a lot of evidence to show you what this defendant is like, who he really is. However, a court on summary judgment must view the evidence through "the prism of the substantive evidentiary burden." Medellin later complained that "the bitch wouldn't die" and that it would have been "easier with a gun". Vol. Cantu's federal habeas petition raises twelve interrelated claims that the Court summarizes as follows: Cantu exhausted each of his claims in state court. Four days after the girls disappeared, a person identifying himself as 'Gonzalez' called the Crimestoppers Tips number. Cantu contends that the former prohibition on parole-eligibility information rendered his defense ineffectual. 2005); O'Brien v. Dretke, 4:02-CV-1865 (S.D. Following Cantu's initial instruction, Villarreal first shouted "Get on your knees, bitch!" The state habeas court rejected each of his complaints. Roman Sandoval testified that Cantu called him after the murders and essentially confessed to having raped and murdered the girls. Cantu read and signed the second statement, again in the presence of two other officers. 2006); but see Smith v. Quarterman, 515 F.3d 392, 412 (5th Cir. But if something like this cant spark it, what can? "[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." Next, Cassie goes over the most horrendous murder we've probably covered yet; the decapitation and murder of the Rubio siblings by the hand of their own parents in Brownsville. Cantu claims that the trial court violated his constitutional rights by not allowing for his conviction for less-serious offenses. 21 at 320-21, Vol. Vol. 2000). Khch hng ca chng ti bao gm nhng hiu thuc ln, ca hng M & B, ca hng chi, chui nh sch cng cc ca hng chuyn v dng v chi tr em. After unsuccessfully exhausting his state court remedies, Cantu has filed a federal habeas corpus petition raising twelve grounds for relief. Officer Swainson decided to interview Cantu again. Fourteen-year-old gang member Venancio Medellin testified that, after he raped Ms. Ertman, Cantu came up to him and whispered in his ear: "We're going to have to kill them." 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. 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. He wants you . See Medellin v. Texas, ___ U.S. ___, 128 S. Ct. 1346 (2008); O'Brien v. Dretke, 156 F. App'x 724, 726-28 (5th Cir. See 28 U.S.C. Vol. The Supreme Court, however, has never required the States to conform to only one method of considering mitigating evidence. Im not sure who else has brought attention to it. Under the appropriate standard, Cantu has not shown that this Court should certify any issue for appellate consideration. Later, Houston Police Department Officer Roy Swainson compared Cantu's initial statement to his interview of Fransisco Sandoval and the statement taken from O'Brien. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Vol. Jurek v. Texas, 428 U.S. 262, 271 (1976) (plurality opinion); see also Woodson v. North Carolina, 428 U.S. 280, 303-04 (1976). "The due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides an independent check on a prosecutor's comments that `so infected the trial with unfairness as to make the resulting conviction [or sentence] a denial of due process.'" 24 at 932-33; Tr. The Supreme Court itself has broadly used the term "moral blameworthiness" to describe that which a jury considers in effectuating the mitigation inquiry. The girls were walking along the White Oak Bayou when they encountered six "Black and White" gang members drinking beer shortly after holding the gang initiation ceremony of 17-year-old Raul Omar Villarreal. As compelling a case as the facts present, the application of the law to these facts necessarily causes misgivings even to the most ardent proponents of the death penalty. When Ms. Pena was nearly lifeless, Cantu kicked her in the mouth with his steel-toed boots. 1999); Muniz v. Johnson, 132 F.3d 214, 224 (5th Cir. Vol. 28 at 790. This reasoning prevents a "false dilemma by advancing generalized arguments regarding the defendant's future dangerousness while, at the same time, preventing the jury from learning that the defendant will never be released on parole." The police arrested the gang members simultaneously. Eventually, the en banc Fifth Circuit in Graham v. Collins, 950 F.2d 1009 (5th Cir. After the Penry I decision in 1989, Texas did not hold a regular legislative session until 1991. After the presentation of testimony and evidence in a separate punishment phase, the jury answered Texas' special issue questions: For convenience, the Court will generally refer to Cantu's attorneys collectively as "trial counsel.". Franklin v. Lynaugh, 487 U.S. 164, 181 (1988) (plurality opinion). P. 56(c). Those poor poor girls. Death penalty opponents protested the impending execution. Tr. With respect to those convictions between 1989 and 1991, the Supreme Court ultimately rejected Texas' stopgap instructions. A horrifying TEX. Ramdass, 530 U.S. at 169 (emphasis added). To be sure, other young men in similar circumstances would not have participated in cold-blooded murders. Id. Tr. Maggots swarmed about their bodies, particularly in the bloodied head and genital regions. 2 at 30.) They had spent the evening drinking beer and then "jumping in" Raul. Even if trial counsel should have objected, the prosecutor's statements were only minor threads in a detailed mosaic that supported the jury's answers to the special issues. 22 at 579, 596-98, 603-06. When the gang members finished bragging about the rapes, Joe Cantu asked what happened to the girls. Corey Mitchell's book "Pure Murder," which details the See 28 U.S.C. The 2008 It is stories like this that make me think this country is going to explode in a paroxysm of rage - pure rage. O'Brien (the only non-Hispanic in the gang) and Villarreal then proceeded to strangle Ertman with a red nylon belt before the belt broke. (Doc. When he advanced his three ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims on state habeas review, he anticipated that the state courts would find that he defaulted any actual due process claim by not making a contemporaneous objection at trial. Texas law defined mitigating circumstances as "evidence that a juror might regard as reducing the defendant's moral blameworthiness." 1996). I can only hope that Pres. Id. (Doc. Third, Cantu alleges that his trial attorneys should have objected when the prosecution referred to the allegedly inflammatory material during closing arguments (claim twelve). Tr. Respondent has moved for summary judgment. State Habeas Record at 260. While Cantu, Jose Medellin, O'Brien, Perez, and Villareal all received death sentences, Perez and Villareal had their sentenced commuted to life imprisonment pursuant to Roper v. Simmons, 543 U.S. 551 (2005), because they were minors when they participated in the killings. Id. Jennifer tried her hand at basketball before concluding she wasn't cut out for athletics. Entry No. 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." Tr. Cantu raises two claims related to the jury's consideration of his mitigation defense. See Schriro v. Landrigan, ___ U.S. ___, 127 S. Ct. 1933, 1954 (2007); South Carolina v. Gathers, 490 U.S. 805, 818 (1984). 13 at 13.). Tr. In his initial statement, Cantu reluctantly admitted to a limited role in raping and stealing from the girls. The question is whether Texas' definition of mitigating evidence inhibits mitigation review. The jury instructions in the guilt/innocence phase gave the jury only two options: convict Cantu of capital murder or acquit him. The lack of a due process violation undercuts the ineffectiveness claims Cantu raises on federal habeas review. Nearby, Mary had just rented a new house but the problem was that dang alarm. The families of both Ertman and Pea strongly favored the execution(s). art. The review of proposed lesser-included-offense instructions requires the Court to ascertain how a rational juror would have considered the evidence presented at trial. Tr. Xin cm n qu v quan tm n cng ty chng ti. The Texas Legislature's renovation of its capital punishment scheme in the wake of Furman did not include a specific vehicle for the consideration of mitigating evidence. Trial counsel sought a favorable answer to the future dangerousness special issue by showing that: (1) Cantu would not be dangerous while incarcerated; (2) with the passage of time he would mature and become less violent; and (3) when he became eligible for parole after 35 years he would not pose a threat to society. Tr. [7] Before the murders, Houston officials had stated that gangs were not a significant issue in the city. Campbell, 117 F. App'x at 953. visiting the murder location of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman two houston teenager who were brutally taped and murdered by gang memebers "[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 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." Tr. Vol. 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. Tigner v. Cockrell, 264 F.3d 521, 525 (5th Cir. I hope he spends the entire 40 years in prison. The medical examiner corroborated that the cause of death was strangulation. After several gang members fought Villareal, the group started drinking. TEX. He is not an eighteen year old child that didn't know what he was doing." In response to accusations from anti-death penalty advocates that the death penalty is a cruel and unusual form of punishment, Pea's father later remarked O'Brien's death had occurred peacefully, "in twenty seconds", adding: "I wish to God that my daughter could have died that easily. I might try to email it to Dennis Prager. The Tennard court found that the Fifth Circuit's precedent "ha[d] no foundation in the decisions of [the Supreme] Court." Cantu, 939 S.W.2d at 647. Other comments mentioned the 35-year period, but did not elaborate on Texas parole law. This Court cannot issue the writ unless the error "ha[d] a `substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining the jury's verdict.'" This Court will not certify any issue for review by the Fifth Circuit. The WebThe State of Texas charged Cantu with the capital murder of Jennifer Ertman during a kidnapping, robbery, or aggravated sexual assault. Although Cantu had been a continuing disciplinary problem, expelled from three schools and given to threats of violence, nothing about his life even began to approach the depravity of his conduct on June 24, 1993. Vol. Others joined in the narrative, "[l]ike they were proud of what they did. A State can structure the jury's consideration of mitigating evidence, provided it does not diffuse any relevant mitigating factors. 28 at 768-69. Cantu, who had been taking Venancio Medellin home, then returned and distributed money and jewelry he stole from the girls. Vol. I believe only non violent offenders are capable of and deserving of rehabilitation. Williams v. Taylor, 529 U.S. 362, 413 (2000); see also Bell v. Cone, 535 U.S. 685, 698 (2002); Early v. Packer, 537 U.S. 3, 7-8 (2002). Of a due process violation undercuts the ineffectiveness claims Cantu raises two claims related to girls. 412 ( 5th Cir but the problem was that dang alarm 1009 ( 5th Cir chng.. 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