"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." Governor Rick Perry argued that Texas is not bound to World Court rulings. Cantu complains that, the law discussed above notwithstanding, this Court should find constitutional error because other Texas capital juries received information about parole eligibility. at 569 (quotation omitted). He hurt my friends and I didn't know and I cry a lot about not knowing. 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. The possibility of parole, not the timing thereof, exempted Texas from the Simmons requirement. 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. 2 at 12.) Rule 403 of the Texas Rules of Criminal Evidence governs the admissibility of allegedly inflammatory photographs. Its only task is to determine whether the petitioner meets the extremely stringent standards for federal habeas corpus relief. PROC. The Court will review the context of closing argument to provide context to the allegedly objectionable prosecutorial statements. . 42.18 8(b)(2) (1991). The trial court did not violate the Constitution by refusing to give a simple murder instruction. State Habeas Record at 261. In closing arguments, trial counsel encouraged the jury to find that Officer Swainson manufactured Cantu's second statement. 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." Against this backdrop, Cantu accuses Texas of perpetuating Penry error after the legislative renovation in 1991. The prosecution introduced into evidence dental x-rays (SX 112, 146) and autopsy photos of the two victims to support the dental and medical examiners' testimony proving that Cantu kicked Ms. Ertman in the mouth as she was dying and that the gang members finished killing the girls by stomping on their neck (photographs of Elizabeth Pena: SX 113, 115-18, 120, 122-29, 142, 143, 149-51; photographs of Jennifer Ertman: SX 120, 133-34, 136-37, 139-43). As an integral component of the Fifth Circuit's test, a defendant had to demonstrate a "nexus" between the mitigating evidence and the special issues. Pea brushed aside Medelln's hand and continued walking. Additionally, because no federal law required Texas to inform its juries of a capital defendant's parole eligibility, establishing such a rule on federal habeas review would require the creation of new constitutional law. Jennifer Ertmans dad is on Laura Ingraham right nowhour is almost up though. Fellow gang member Roman Sandoval described how the gang members encountered the two girls and dragged them off to be raped. Tr. Clearly established Supreme Court precedent applies Simmons "only to instances where, as a legal matter, there is no possibility of parole if the jury decides the appropriate sentence is life in prison." 2000); Hughes v. Johnson, 191 F.3d 607, 617 (5th Cir. Vol. The trial court denied the motion to suppress. art. "As a general principle, Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, relating to summary judgment, applies with equal force in the context of habeas corpus cases." 37.071(e)(2)(b) (Vernon 2002). Clear, binding precedent forecloses relief on Cantu's claims. The state habeas court, nonetheless, held that his trial attorneys "are not ineffective based on the lack of a due process objection to the proper admission of the crime scene video, crime scene photos, and autopsy photos." (Doc. I was in Menlo park in during a huge gang fight. (Doc. . Cantu raises three challenges to his trial representation, all involving his attorneys' efforts to minimize or prevent the introduction of images from the crime scene and autopsy. 1997). 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. The State of Texas charged Cantu with the capital murder of Jennifer Ertman during a kidnapping, robbery, or aggravated sexual assault. Cantu suggests: (Doc. One of them bragged about having virgin blood on his underwear. Did one of the culprits confess with that much detail? The Fifth Circuit concluded: Also, the Court of Criminal Appeals noted that the prosecution's statement was merely a "suggestion," and did not tell "the jury that they must find a nexus between the offense and the evidence offered as mitigation[.]" But if something like this cant spark it, what can? The admissibility of evidence is generally a matter of state evidentiary law. Tr. The prosecution responded by comparing the legal process by which Cantu could receive a death sentence to the brutal murders. State Habeas Record at 259-60. Vol. PRO. State Habeas Record at 261. The trial court did not allow any voir dire discussion of potential parole eligibility. art. PROC. Entry No. Having a teenage daughter myself reading this was so painful. Other gang members confessed that they only participated because they were "just following whatever Peter Cantu was doing." Tr. Vol. 22 at 452-53. Villareal and O'Brien began choking the Ms. Ertman, first with their hands and then with a belt. 1994); Kinnamon v. Scott, 40 F.3d 731, 733 (5th Cir. This case is ripe for adjudication. Woods v. Johnson, 75 F.3d 1017, 1039 (5th Cir. 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." Cantu said the girls "had to die [so] they couldn't identify them." On June 24, 1993, the girls spent the day together.and then died together. WebOn June 24th 1993 a pair of teenage girls were walking through a public park in Houston,Texas when they were viciously assaulted by a local youth gang. Vn phng chnh: 3-16 Kurosaki-cho, kita-ku, Osaka-shi 530-0023, Nh my Toyama 1: 532-1 Itakura, Fuchu-machi, Toyama-shi 939-2721, Nh my Toyama 2: 777-1 Itakura, Fuchu-machi, Toyama-shi 939-2721, Trang tri Spirulina, Okinawa: 2474-1 Higashimunezoe, Hirayoshiaza, Miyakojima City, Okinawa. WebThe graves of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena are about 200 yards apart in Woodlawn Garden of Memories Cemetery. 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. Vi i ng nhn vin gm cc nh nghin cu c bng tin s trong ngnh dc phm, dinh dng cng cc lnh vc lin quan, Umeken dn u trong vic nghin cu li ch sc khe ca m, cc loi tho mc, vitamin v khong cht da trn nn tng ca y hc phng ng truyn thng. Tr. 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. 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. Two brothers who had been with them but testified that they were not in the gang left first and passed Jenny and Elizabeth, who were unknowingly walking towards their deaths. The gang members all said that they "had to kill" the girls. SIGN UP FOR FOX 26 HOUSTON EMAIL ALERTS Because the Fifth Circuit, however, has avoided ruling on this argument, see Foster v. Dretke, 2006 WL 616980 (5th Cir. No death, but it was a year before columbine. Cantu was again informed of and waived his rights. I hope he spends the entire 40 years in prison. (Doc. 28 at 783. 21 at 327. In addition to Cantu's youth, other influences upon his conduct during the night in question included heavy drinking and a ritual of gang initiation, circumstances that lend themselves to peer-driven recklessness and even madness. Cantu's history did not prove him to be a youthful offender "whose crime reflects irreparable corruption." 2254(d)(1). TEX. The state habeas court rejected each of his complaints. At sentencing, the offenders were remanded to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) system. I testified against that fuck. For the reasons that have been given, Respondent's Motion for Summary Judgment is GRANTED and the Federal Petition is DENIED. She felt sorry for the families and wanted them to be able to put their daughters' bodies to rest. Cantu was arrested and charged with capital murder in 1993. Darden, 477 U.S. at 182. Clerk's Record at 286 ("During your deliberations, you are not to consider or discuss any possible action of the Board of Pardons and Paroles division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or of the Governor, or how long the defendant would be required to serve to satisfy a sentence of life imprisonment."). Given the exhaustive prior summaries of the crime the Court will recite only briefly the factual narrative. WebMost of the soft tissue on Jennifer Ertmans head and the external portion of her vagina was eaten by maggots, indicating that there was trauma, hemorrhaging and bleeding. 23 at 698-99. Additionally, Cantu claims that the prosecution's penalty phase argument compounded the structural problems in Texas law, further limiting the jury's ability to act on his mitigating evidence (claim seven). . As the Court of Criminal Appeals observed: "For a rational jury to find that appellant was guilty only of murder, some evidence must exist in the record that appellant did not commit sexual assault, robbery, or kidnapping or did not kill during the commission of or in the immediate flight from committing any of these offenses." Vol. vote for a capital conviction if the only alternative was to set the defendant free with no punishment at all"). Unfortunately, as they took a shortcut home, Ms. Ertman and Ms. Pena came upon the gang at around 11:30 p.m. Roman Sandoval and Frank Sandoval were leaving as the girls neared the other gang members. Rather, there must be some evidence directly germane to a lesser-included offense for the factfinder to consider before an instruction on a lesser-included offense is warranted." The gang members then stomped on both girls' throats to ensure their deaths. Trial counsel compared the possible fate of his client to the death of the two victims. Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808, 825 (1991). Overwhelming evidence coming from Cantu, fellow gang members, and those to whom they confessed their crime inculpated Cantu in the capital murder. TEX. The State of Texas prosecuted Cantu and his four fellow gang members simultaneously but in separate trials. Texas inmates have offered various arguments in trying to apply Simmons to Texas' former capital procedure. Medelln reported that he had killed a girl, and noted that he would have found it easier with a gun. 1995); Allridge v. Scott, 41 F.3d 213, 222 (5th Cir. At the time of Cantu's trial, a Texas capital defendant who received a life sentence would become eligible for parole after 35 years of incarceration. In other words, there is a vast asymmetry in the punishments to be imposed, all because of nothing more substantive than a few weeks variation in birth dates. Vernon 2002 ) aside Medelln 's hand and continued walking context of closing argument to provide to! 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