The trial court refused to provide the jury with the requested instructions. 2004). 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. seeks to show constitutional error from a jury instruction that quotes a state statute"). As the prosecution introduced the various exhibits into evidence, trial counsel reurged their state-law objections. 1. Under the appropriate standard, Cantu has not shown that this Court should certify any issue for appellate consideration. Vol. I hope his life is, was and remains a misery. Vol. At the time of these crimes, Cantu was 28 days past his 18th birthday. 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." Vol. Ertman died Sunday August 17th at home with his wife Sandy by his side. Cantu complains that the absence of correct information about parole law left his defense theory incomplete and ineffectual. 37.071 2(f)(4). They knew they would be late if they took the normal path home, down W. 34th Street to T.C. See 28 U.S.C. 21 at 327. Entry No. In 2005, Texas revised its capital sentencing statute. 2002); Collier v. Cockrell, 300 F.3d 577, 583 (5th Cir. "[T]he images of decomposition and maggot infestation were clearly intended only to arouse, and undoubtedly did arouse, such anger and disgust in the jurors that they were unlikely to acquit Cantu under any circumstances, even if they believed him to be, or had a doubt whether he might be, guilty of some offense other than capital murder." Cantu was again informed of and waived his rights. Respondent has filed a motion for summary judgment arguing that Cantu's claims do not merit federal habeas corpus relief. Mar. Jennifer tried her hand at basketball before concluding she wasn't cut out for athletics. Teague v. Lane, 489 U.S. 288 (1989), thus bars relief on these claims. Tr. The Court must decide whether a rational jury would have acquitted Cantu of capital murder and convicted him of another offense because it found only his first statement credible. Vol. Jose Medellin said that they "had a lot of fun and it should come out on the news." http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1907918/posts, Bush, Texas at odds over death case Even without the photographs, trial testimony painted a vivid image of Cantu's brutality in killing the girls. The Furman Court established that a state capital sentencing system must satisfy two requirements to be constitutionally acceptable: it must "rationally narrow the class of death-eligible defendants" and "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." 13, 2006) (unpublished), and has unconditionally applied Beck to all inmates who have received a death sentence, the Court will apply Beck to Cantu's claim. 28 U.S.C. Vol. 1996); Turner v. Johnson, 106 F.3d 1178, 1189 (5th Cir. 22 at 452-53. 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." They had spent the evening drinking beer and then "jumping in" Raul. You are right about Bush, however I believe further that we have been duped by the GOP. [not to] kill this child." 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. 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. He then elaborated that he had raped both girls. 2007). 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. The jury instructions allowed for Cantu's conviction either as a principal actor or as a party to the offense. Autopsy United States v. Branch, 91 F.3d 699, 713 (5th Cir. 2254(e)(1). Trial counsel compared the possible fate of his client to the death of the two victims. Vol. 24 at 942. (Doc. She was then forced to remove her underwear. Because he provided no evidence of constitutional overstepping by the police, both of Cantu's full statements came before the jury. WebThe State of Texas charged Cantu with the capital murder of Jennifer Ertman during a kidnapping, robbery, or aggravated sexual assault. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1907733/posts, Death Penalty Case Puts Bush and Texas at Odds Over Mexicans Fate State Habeas Record at 261. The state habeas court held that Cantu "fail[ed] to show that the admission of such autopsy and crime scene photos and crime scene video violated his due process rights[.]" Id. Buchanan v. Angelone, 522 U.S. 269, 276 (1998); see also Franklin, 487 U.S. at 179. 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." Tr. The Sandoval brothers testified at trial that Medellin and Cantu forced the girls to the ground. I testified against that fuck. PRO. Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena were 14 and 16 years old, respectively. In light of those conclusions, the state habeas court held that Cantu "fail[ed] to show that trial counsel are ineffective based on the lack of objection to the State's cited punishment[.]" Woodford v. Garceau, 538 U.S. 202, 206 (2003) (quotation and citation omitted). This one has always stuck with me, to an insane degree. Still, the Court's task is not to substitute its judgment for that of the Texas state courts. 24 at 932-33; Tr. 3) Your have handed the Presidency to Hillary Clinton. Vol. Cantu's first six claims challenge the trial court's refusal to inform his jury about Texas parole law. (Doc. Well I better stay speechless because whats going through my head would get me banned. Cantu argues that his trial attorneys should have objected to the prosecution's encouragement to look at the allegedly inflammatory photographs as his "handy work" when weighing his fate. "A jury must be allowed to consider on the basis of all relevant evidence not only why a death sentence should be imposed, but also why it should not be imposed." Tr. In 2005, President George W. Bush ordered hearings to be held. 23 at 698-99. The State used substantially the same language when prosecuting O'Brien for his role in the Ertman/Pena murders. Tr. 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. The possibility of parole, not the timing thereof, exempted Texas from the Simmons requirement. If you can live in this country for years illegally and then remember you did not get to talk to the Mexican Council general, it should be to damn bad. 2000); Hughes v. Johnson, 191 F.3d 607, 617 (5th Cir. A court may only issue a COA when "the applicant has made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right." 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 Due Process Clause protects against prosecutorial excess in closing summation. Both girls were strangled to death. Take them out and shoot them - then hand them from a tree and let the vultures do their work. Campbell v. Dretke, 117 F. App'x 946, 952 (5th Cir. Really. The trial judge stated: Tr. F-me, these stories get uglier and sadder every day. After the prosecution reviewed other violent acts from Cantu's life, the closing argument returned to a comparison between Cantu and the victims: Tr. The Payne Court explicitly stated that the "State has a legitimate interest in counteracting the mitigating evidence which the defendant is entitled to put in, by reminding the sentencer that just as the murderer should be considered as an individual, so too the victim is an individual whose death represents a unique loss to society and in particular to this family." His knowledge of the crimes came from the killers themselves, most of whom came to his home after the murders, bragging and swapping the jewelry they had stolen from the girls. Cantu claims that the language of Texas' statutorily authorized mitigation special issue impeded full jury consideration of his penalty-phase evidence. Raul was an acquaintance of Efrain and was not known to the other gang members. The Supreme Court holds that a state court decision is "contrary to" federal precedent when the state court arrives at a conclusion "opposite to that reached by [the Supreme Court] on a question of law" or "the state court decides a case differently than [the Supreme Court] has on a set of materially indistinguishable facts." 28 at 785. 23 at 699-703. The whole purpose of punishing these people should be to make them suffer. Here, the Court of Criminal Appeals summarized the evidence showing that Cantu would pose a future danger as follows: On both direct appeal and state habeas review, the state courts found no constitutional error in preventing the jury from speculating on the possibility of parole. She was thrown to the ground by gang members Peter Cantu and Derrick Sean O'Brien. 24 at 868-69, 902, 920-21. 1245 Heights Blvd., Houston Texas. After unsuccessfully exhausting his state court remedies, Cantu has filed a federal habeas corpus petition raising twelve grounds for relief. On June 24, 1993, Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman from Houston, Texas were assaulted and 24 at 863-66, 917-18. State Habeas Record at 259. The prosecution explained why they sought to admit the photographs into evidence: Tr. . Cantu's second statement fully harmonized with trial testimony. Days later, Cantu's brother and sister-in-law reported what they had heard to the police. at 569 (quotation omitted). The Clerk will provide a copy to the parties. at 369. Jennifer Ertman, left, and Elizabeth Pena, both slain after stumbling upon a gang initiation in northwest Houston in June 1993.. Houston Chronicle. 28 at 664. Importantly, the state courts did not unreasonably find a lack of Strickland prejudice. One of the boys boasted of having 'virgin blood' on him. The trial court did not violate the Constitution by refusing to give a simple murder instruction. ]"); Robertson v. Cain, 324 F.3d 297, 306 (5th Cir. The 14-year-old juvenile later testified that he had gone back and forth between his brother and Peter Cantu since they were the only ones there that he really knew and kept urging them to leave. 13 at 11.) Casetext, Inc. and Casetext are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice. 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." What a horrible crime. Five of the gang members proceeded to repeatedly rape both girls for in excess of an hour. 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." The issue is not whether a juror, through rejecting some evidence or considering the factual scenario in a particular manner, conceivably could return a verdict for a lesser crime. Entry No. I attended all five trials with the Ertmans and know too well the awful things that they and the Penas had to hear and see in the course of seeing Justice served for their girls. As Ertman was murdered, Pea was forced to watch her friend's death as other gang members held a ligature around her own neck. Vol. 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 . 21 at 327. "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.'" Tr. Even assuming it was error to admit the material, the Court cannot find that it was a crucial, highly significant factor in Cantu's conviction. The Clerk will provide a copy to the offense parole law Sunday August 17th at home with his Sandy. Peter Cantu and Derrick Sean O'Brien claims do not provide legal advice issue a COA when `` the applicant made... Court did not violate the Constitution by refusing to give a simple murder instruction be late if they took normal... Elizabeth Pena and jennifer Ertman from Houston, Texas were assaulted and 24 at 863-66,.. Possibility of parole, not the timing thereof, exempted Texas from the requirement. 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