At T.C. Overstreet, J., filed concurring and dissenting opinion. In a thorough and well-reasoned memorandum and order, the district court denied habeas relief and, sua sponte, declined to issue a certificate of appealability on any of the issues raised by Cantu. Article 36.01, which governs the order of proceeding in trial, states in pertinent part: * * * 1871, 128 L.Ed.2d 491 (1994). M. Pena also told the jury what her daughter had been like in life: personality traits she exhibited, activities she had engaged in, and similar good character type evidence. ), cert. denied, 499 U.S. 932, 111 S.Ct. A petitioner satisfies this standard by demonstrating that jurists of reason could disagree with the district court's resolution of his constitutional claims or that jurists could conclude the issues presented are adequate to deserve encouragement to proceed further. Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 327, 123 S.Ct. 2726, 33 L.Ed.2d 346 (1972). Situando a esta "Just a bad, bad case.". In Payne v. Tennessee, 501 U.S. 808, 111 S.Ct. Moore v. State, 935 S.W.2d 124, 130 (Tex.Crim.App.1996). M. Pena then testified as to her relationship with her daughter and her daughter's relationship with other members of the family. Article 37.071 2(h). I'm not going to show it to you. Point of error thirty-six is overruled. 37.071 2(b) and 2(e), the trial judge sentenced appellant to death.FN2 Article 37.071 2(g). Appellant does not here argue that the extraneous offenses should not have been admitted. 1910, 150 L.Ed.2d 9 (2001) (using the clearly drafted catchall instruction of Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 37.071 2(e)(1) as a frame of reference to compare its brevity and clarity against the confusing nature of the supplemental instruction given in that case). ), we noted that it has long been the law in Texas that evidence of a deceased's good and peaceful character is not admissible unless and until that character is placed in issue by the defendant. Condolences for the family may be offered at www.holmgreenmortuaryinc.com and shared via Holmgreen Mortuary Facebook. Texas presents the question of mitigating evidence to a jury through article 37.071, sections 2(e)(1) and 2(f)(4) of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Ertman got away, but Medellin grabbed Pena and dragged her down off the hill. 2. See Lawton, supra. Specifically, he alleges that denying jurors the knowledge that appellant would have to serve at least 35 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole if sentenced to life in prison results in the arbitrary imposition of the death penalty in violation of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article I, 10, 13, and 19 of the Texas Constitution. The initiation involved fighting each member of the gang for a five to ten minute period. 1029. Six months before Jenny and Elizabeth were murdered, three of their killers murdered another young woman, Patricia Lourdes Lopez. Banda v. State, 890 S.W.2d 42, 54 (Tex.Crim.App.1994), cert. Especially the white chick, she looked good, huh, Junior? We also note that to preserve error for appellate review, assuming there was error, the party alleging error must have informed the trial court as to his complaint by making a timely objection so that the trial court was given an opportunity to rule on the complaint. The record reveals that M. Pena was one of over thirty witnesses who testified at punishment, and her testimony before the jury comprised less than twenty pages out of over 700 pages of testimony at punishment. At his sentencing for the Ertman-Pena case, the judge asked Cantu if there was any reason the sentence shouldn't be imposed. Because our analysis involves a review of the district court's resolution of Cantu's constitutional claims, we must take account of the deferential lens through which the district court evaluated those claims. * * * As such, we hold that no error has been created by these events. The vague references to 35 years in questioning the above-discussed witness were certainly not sufficient to inform the jury of the law. We will affirm. [APPELLANT:] Excuse me, ma'am. However, appellant was also given the statutorily mandated mitigation instruction of Article 37.071 2(e) which provides the jury with just such a vehicle needed to consider and give effect to evidence such as evidence of intoxication which does not rise to the level of temporary insanity. FN8. [Emphasis in original.] Next, the older boys raped the two girls for about an hour while Venancio watched. However, no such evidence exists. FN5. During its jury argument at punishment, the State did not even mention her testimony, much less emphasize it. [WITNESS:] I did that. Nor does he argue that the charge given was inappropriate, only that it was incomplete. The families filed missing persons reports with the Houston Police Department and continued to look for the girls on their own. * that appellant attacked a sixth grade teacher; He had assaulted fellow students and a teacher, been kicked out of his regular school, and threatened security personnel at the alternative school to which he had been sent. Pete Cantu, 82. on (AP August 17, 2010). Compare, Cofield v. State, 891 S.W.2d 952 (Tex.Crim.App.1994).FN7 Point of error six is overruled. Her family was present at his trial for the June murders. Subsequent decisions by this court have consistently held that a state trial court may not, under Beck, refuse a lesser-included-offense instruction if the jury could rationally acquit on the capital crime and convict for the noncapital crime. East v. Scott, 55 F.3d 996, 1005 (5th Cir.1995) (internal citation omitted) (quoting Cordova v. Lynaugh, 838 F.2d 764, 767 (5th Cir.1988)); see also Aguilar v. Dretke, 428 F.3d 526, 531 (5th Cir.2005). As their midnight curfew approached, they discussed the fastest route to Pena's home. Because the consideration and weighing of mitigating evidence is an open-ended, subjective determination engaged in by each individual juror, we conclude that Article 37.071 2(f)(4) does not unconstitutionally narrow the jury's discretion to factors concerning only moral blameworthiness as appellant alleges. "I told him to stick it. Appellant concedes that there is no requirement that all statutory elements be proven before evidence of an extraneous offense can be admitted at punishment. They had spent the evening drinking beer and then "jumping in" Raul. 385, 133 L.Ed.2d 307 (1995); Broxton v. State, 909 S.W.2d 912 (Tex.Crim.App.1995); Sonnier v. State, 913 S.W.2d 511 (Tex.Crim.App.1995). After unsuccessfully appealing his conviction . Green v. State, 934 S.W.2d 92, 106, 107 (Tex.Crim.App.1996). He said he was told repeatedly by Peter Cantu to "get some". For the following reasons, we decline to issue a COA on any of those issues. Location: Houston, TX. Dec.13, 2006). Derrick Sean O'Brien was executed in July 2006. 74(f). To violate due process, an evidentiary ruling must result in a denial of fundamental fairness, and improperly admitting evidence will only justify habeas relief if the admission was a crucial, highly significant factor in the defendant's conviction. Neal v. Cain, 141 F.3d 207, 214 (5th Cir.1998).FN3. Among them was Melinda Rios, who said the girls had been at her home that night for a small party with her daughters. He let out a final breath at 6:17 p.m. and peacefully died. Later that night, appellant, Joe, Efrian, and Raul regrouped at appellant's house to brag about their exploits. Seven minutes later, O'Brien was dead. 2/4/10 -- Cantu filed a petition for certiorari review in the U.S. Supreme Court. [THE STATE:] And what would he say about that? Any facial unconstitutionality inhering in Article 37.071 2(b)(2) did not affect appellant. Appellant argues that the phrase or anticipated that a human life would be taken renders Article 37.071 2(b)(2) unconstitutional because the phrase lacks the required culpability. Three of the animals who did this are gone, but you know it doesn't really make you feel any better," Pena said. Pursuant to Tex. Court appeals to delay the punishment appeared exhausted. In making this comparison, the prosecution referred to the challenged photographs. Retrieved June 3, 2022. The law as to mitigation and otherwise comes from the jury charge rather than from argument of counsel. Therefore, we hold the first prong is met as to each offense. "There's no way to put closure on this," said Jim Stacey, a close friend of the Ertman family. They were spotted by the group, pulled off the tracks and taken into nearby woods where they were sexually assaulted. Pedro was born on November 5, 1924 in Floresville, Texas to Vincente and Tiadosa Robles Cantu. The suggestion, given the context in which it was made, cannot be characterized as a misstatement of the law, even assuming, arguendo, appellant's assertion on this point is correct. 2950, 2956, 49 L.Ed.2d 929 (1976), and it has not been changed substantially since then. Cantu additionally argued to the district court that he was entitled to a lesser-included instruction on simple murder; however, he does not argue that he is entitled to such an instruction in his petition for COA. He married. In related point of error eleven, appellant alleges that the trial court erred in failing to set aside the indictment because the special issues are not properly understood by the jurors. 1987 Peter "Pete" Cantu 1988 Jay Smith 1989 Don Valdez 1990 Butch Vickers & David Uribe 1991 Hector Sandoval 1992 Refugio "Cuco" Escobedo 1993 George Wright See Photos. The first of these two witnesses, Christina Cantu, testified about how the individuals appeared when they arrived at the house and she told the jury about behavior they engaged in while there. Point of error five is overruled. 2/23/98 --- Cantu filed an application for state writ of habeas corpus. Point of error seven is overruled. 2254(d). Information on every contractor in United States. 9/23/93 -- Cantu was indicted for capital murder by a Harris County grand jury. 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.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. The phone transferred the photos to her online account, and she shared them on Facebook. 1676, 95 L.Ed.2d 127 (1987). 1339, 127 L.Ed.2d 687 (1994), Nelson v. State, 864 S.W.2d 496, 498 (Tex.Crim.App.1993), cert. In his twenty-ninth point of error, appellant alleges that the juxtaposition of the terms reasonable doubt and probability unconstitutionally lowers the reasonable doubt quantum of proof. Appellant's basic argument is that the undefined probability in the future dangerousness issue invites juror confusion and is therefore unconstitutional. Cantu v. Quarterman, 341 Fed.Appx. Raul was an acquaintance of Efrain and was not known to the other gang members. Point of error forty-five is overruled. Thus, we deny a COA on this final issue. ), cert. During this arraignment, the State read the indictment, and the court asked appellant how he pled. The break in solving the case came from, of course, the 911 call. Refine Your Search Results. THE COURT: Overruled. Your email will not be used for any other purpose. DMCA NoticesNewspaper web site content management software and services. 6:00pm I was escorted along with four other media witnesses. However, when requesting a running objection, appellant asked for a running objection to all these hearsay statements. Appellant's objections encompass complaints under both the Texas Rules of Criminal Evidence governing the admission of hearsay statements and the Confrontation Clause of the United States Constitution. denied, 514 U.S. 1005, 115 S.Ct. No, not in the least. The medical examiner testified that Elizabeth's two front teeth were knocked out of her brutalized mouth before she died and that two of Jennifer's ribs were broken after she had died. A new season of Texas Metal will air on November 7, 2018, at 9:00 p.m. EST on Velocity. Evid. During that conversation, Joe Cantu testified appellant agreed he had killed both girls and stomped on their necks. Sam Millsap, a former Texas district attorney, weighs his spotless reputation against the life of Ruben Cantu, a potentially innocent man. Tex.R.App. (Aug. 17, 2010, 10:41PM). denied, 513 U.S. 1157, 115 S.Ct. Appellant was subsequently convicted of capital murder in February of *631 1994.FN1 Tex. Points of error one through four are overruled.FN3. Cantu allegedly bragged to friends and family about being the ringleader of the incident, and he paid for it with his life.
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