A drunken O'Brien had told Patricia that if she did not cause him to have an erection through oral sex, he would kill her. See Photos. The class is further limited in that the death penalty cannot be imposed on an individual convicted of capital murder unless the jury answers the special issues in the manner described in Article 37.071, Section 1, Code of Criminal Procedure. at 694, 104 S.Ct. No crime warrants a sentence of death. Banda v. State, 890 S.W.2d 42, 54 (Tex.Crim.App.1994), cert. denied, 495 U.S. 940, 110 S.Ct. We do note that on the penultimate page of his brief, appellant refers to the term, continuing threat to society. This Court has repeatedly rejected the contention that terms such as this must be defined in the charge. Jester Park in Houston to participate in a gang initiation ritual. Three of the animals who did this are gone, but you know it doesn't really make you feel any better," Pena said. PEDRO CANTU OBITUARY Pedro "Pete" Cantu Jr. passed away at 7:00 AM Tuesday, March 19, 2019 at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge at the age of 63 surrounded by his. ), cert. Tuesday, August 10, 2010 Log In. Peter Cantu confessed to the murders at the time of his arrest. ), cert. According to the police, after beating a woman and attempting to steal her car on the city's West Side on Feb. 18, 2015, three suspects could not figure out the vehicle's push-button ignition. Id. On that June night, the girls were hoping to beat an 11:30 p.m. curfew by taking a shortcut home to Pena's northwest Houston neighborhood. A worship service was held on Sunday, February 2nd at 5:00 P.M. in the chapel of the Schaetter Funeral Home, Fredericksburg. Two other inmates have 2010 execution dates. Associated Addresses. Both Tison and Enmund were concerned with the implementation of the death penalty on defendants who were not proven to have an intent to kill. Several witnesses testified appellant had a history of violent behavior and offenses. Proc. In Rousseau, 855 S.W.2d at 673, we established a two-prong test to determine whether a defendant is entitled to a charge on a lesser included offense. "How can you forget something like this? Cantu Roofing 922 Mildid Ave, San Antonio, TX 78211 Service: Roofing, Home Builders, Additions, Home Theaters, General Contractors Employees: Pedro Cantu (Owner) License: Texas #HR921199 Status: Active City: San Antonio Type: Home Improvement Contractor Verified: Status: Verify Date: February, 2016 People named Pete Cantu. We concluded that the trial court's decision to admit this testimony was not an abuse of discretion in that such testimony was within the zone of reasonable disagreement of evidence relevant to sentence. 401 and therefore irrelevant in the context of the special issues under Art. In determining whether jury argument is extreme or manifestly improper, we look at the entire record of final arguments to determine if there was a willful and calculated effort on the part of the State to deprive appellant of a fair and impartial trial. We will affirm. 9/23/93 -- Cantu was indicted for capital murder by a Harris County grand jury. In 1993, six gang members raped, killed, and brutally beat 14-year-old Jennifer Ertman and 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena beyond recognition. The boys boasted about the rapes and killings. During that conversation, Joe Cantu testified appellant agreed he had killed both girls and stomped on their necks. Subsequently, they all took turns stomping on both girls necks to make sure they were dead. The police were sent to the scene and searched the park without finding anything. The failure to assign a burden of proof on the mitigation issue (or to place the burden on the defendant) does not render the scheme unconstitutional. Raul was an acquaintance of Efrain and was not known to the other gang members. Webb, 760 S.W.2d at 268; Tucker, 771 S.W.2d at 530. In light of the record as a whole, the error in precluding the jury from being informed about the parole ineligibility provision was no doubt harmless. Appellant objected to the attack over Counsel's shoulder, which objection the trial court sustained. It was traced to the home of the brother of one of the men later sentenced to death for these murders. He asserts that the nexus requirement set out by this Court in cases like Lackey v. State, 819 S.W.2d 111, 135 n. 10 (Tex.Crim.App.1989), Mines v. State, 852 S.W.2d 941 (Tex.Crim.App.1992),FN4 Richardson v. State, 879 S.W.2d 874 (Tex.Crim.App.1993), and Willingham v. State, supra, is no longer valid in light of the post- Penry sentencing scheme.FN5 He conclusorily states that, while a nexus was required under these post- Penry, pre-statute cases, this should no longer be the law in light of the enactment of Article 37.071, Section 2(e).FN6. They were last seen by friends about 11:15 at night, when they left a friend's apartment to head home, to beat summer curfew at 11:30. 6. whether the defendant was acting under duress or the domination of another at the time of the offense; Mr. Pedro Cantu, Jr., 87, entered into the presence of his Heavenly Father on Saturday, June 9, 2018. In point three, appellant avers that the trial court erred in prohibiting him from introducing testimony that he would have to serve 35 calendar years before becoming parole eligible if sentenced to life imprisonment. Ertman will stand a few feet away, watching again through the window. The gang then drank beer and engaged in horseplay. It affected more than just Melissa and me and Randy and Sandy.". The district court noted that the prosecution was seeking to counteract Cantu's mitigating evidence by bringing attention to the victims and comparing the legal process by which Cantu might receive a death penalty to the brutality of the murders committed by Cantu. Evidence at trial showed appellant's actions with respect to this offense were of a calculated and deliberate nature. Cantu declined requests for interviews prior to his execution. Johnson v. Quarterman, 483 F.3d 278, 285 (5th Cir.2007). Appellant, along with his co-defendants, brutally raped, strangled, and stomped the two girls to death. See Photos. Very brutal, very slow, tortured, a senseless killing. Roofing, Home Builders, Additions, Home Theaters, General Contractors. 2253(c), Cantu now seeks from this court a certificate of appealability. . Further, the trial court did not admit all of the prosecution's proffered photographs and instead engaged in a process of weighing the probative value of each photograph against its likely prejudicial effect. Even if the statements that were made in the presence of appellant were hearsay, they were admissible under Tex.R.Crim.Evid. denied, 492 U.S. 912, 109 S.Ct. Your Honor, we object to the suggestion that there has to be a nexus between the mitigation and the returning of a verdict which would result in a life sentence. denied, 513 U.S. 1157, 115 S.Ct. . The Bexar County Sheriff's Office released surveillance video of an attempted burglary on the Northwest Side on May 24, 2016. 927 (1908). These girls went through an awful lot of pain when they died," said Adolfo Pena, father of Elizabeth. The attackers confessed and at times seemed indifferent to the charges against them. at 826-28, 111 S.Ct. 2213, 2223-24, 60 L.Ed.2d 777 (1979). See Harris v. State, 827 S.W.2d 949, 961-963 (Tex.Crim.App. Court appeals to delay the punishment appeared exhausted. STREET OUTLAWS: FASTEST IN AMERICA premieres Monday, October 19 at 8p on Discovery. Four of the other assailants were also convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. 3. the forethought and deliberateness exhibited by the crime's execution; Your email address will not be published. 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. It's not lost on him that Cantu has lived in prison longer than Jennifer and Elizabeth were alive. denied, 492 U.S. 912, 109 S.Ct. When confronted with the evidence, O'Brien admitted his involvement in Patricia's murder. In this regard, this point is inadequately briefed and presents nothing for our review. If enough of any type of evidence exists in the record so that any rational trier of fact could have believed an issue to be true, then we need not know what a specific trier of fact believed. Spare his life, please, ladies and gentlemen of the jury. Cantu strangled Pena with shoelaces. Peter Cantu is not an animal. 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 special pleas, if any, shall be read by the defendant's counsel, and if the plea of not guilty is also relied upon, it shall also be stated. denied, 515 U.S. 1105, 115 S.Ct. At one point, Cantu kicked Ms. Pena in the face with his steel-toed boot. [THE STATE:] Who said we had to kill them? Appellant was tried under the 1992 version of Article 37.071.FN8 Since appellant has simply made a global argument as to all capital defendants since the 1970's, and has not shown us how his specific rights were violated by application of the statute, his contentions are without merit. The police were then able to find the badly decomposed remains of Ms. Ertman and Ms. Pena. Her family was present at his trial for the June murders. Appellant has shown no particularized need for this study. 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. 2950, 49 L.Ed.2d 929 (1976), except to incorporate the dictates of Penry v. Lynaugh, 492 U.S. 302, 109 S.Ct. The court, the attorney representing the state, the defendant, or the defendant's counsel may not inform a juror or a prospective juror of the effect of a failure of a jury to agree on issues submitted under Subsection (c) or (e) of this article. denied, 492 U.S. 912, 109 S.Ct. 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. She testified that appellant was friendly to her and never mistreated or was disrespectful to her. Because appellant did not specify at trial which complaint he was asserting, his objection was not sufficiently specific to preserve review on appeal. Several dozen people showed up outside the Walls Unit in support of the families and the execution. Perez and Villarreal will not be eligible for parole consideration for more than two decades. denied, 490 U.S. 1102, 109 S.Ct. Hence, the Supreme Court removed the Eighth Amendment bar to evidence about the victim and evidence about the impact of the murder on the victim's family created by Booth v. Maryland, 482 U.S. 496, 107 S.Ct. Jenny was strangled with the belt of Sean O'Brien, with two murderers pulling, one on each side, until the belt broke. First, as the district court recognized, admitting such graphic photographs does not offend due process when the photographs are used to add illustration to testimony describing the details of the crime, as was done here. Texas Rule of Criminal Evidence 610(b) provides: a witness may be cross-examined on any matter relevant to any issue in the case, including credibility. The trial court has discretion as to the extent of cross-examination of a witness for the showing of bias or as to credibility, and its decision is not subject to reversal on appeal absent a clear abuse of discretion. * * *. denied, 506 U.S. 999, 113 S.Ct. 2630, 2639, 129 L.Ed.2d 750 (1994); Anderson v. State, supra at 508-09). In this review, we do not attempt to determine what a particular jury subjectively believed. I dont believe anybody ever in their lifetime is going to forget this. They also knew they would have to pass a sexually-oriented business on that route and so decided to take a well-known shortcut down a railroad track and through a city park to Elizabeth's neighborhood. 1.tu chaparrita 2.mi linda ilusion 3.al cien 4.me aleje de ti 5.acercate (feat. Because of our resolution of points of error eighteen and nineteen, supra, we hold that this was not error. The medical examiner stated that Patricia was probably on her knees in front of her murderer when she was stabbed, based on the angle of the wounds. The Court opined that victim impact evidence is designed to show the victim's uniqueness as a human being and the state has 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 his family. Payne, 501 U.S. at 825, 111 S.Ct. Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Executed Offenders (Cantu), Cantu, Peter Anthony 1. the circumstances of the capital offense, including the defendant's state of mind and whether he was working alone or with other parties; We noted, in Gaddis, supra, that counsel is allowed wide latitude in drawing inferences from the evidence so long as the inferences drawn are reasonable and offered in good faith. 946, 952 (5th Cir.2004) (emphasis added); cf. Appellant then requested and received an instruction to the jury to disregard the comment. Mexican-born Jose Medellin, 33, with needles in his arms, also apologized. Select this result to view Peter Cantu's phone number, address, and more. [WITNESS:] [Appellant], Joe, Junior and Raul. Cantu also confessed. The law should be provided by the trial court in the jury charge, not by questioning the witnesses. The subsequent boastful statements of the remaining gang members revealed that what then ensued was a brutal gang rape of both girls. Both of these claims are governed by the familiar Strickland standard. He has a whole business dedicated to handmade car interiors. Dr. Robert Cantu, chief of neurosurgery at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Mass., and one of the nation's foremost authorities on concussions and brain trauma in youth sports, called the decision to . denied, 513 U.S. 853, 115 S.Ct. Instead of taking her back to her truck, the trio took her to a back parking lot in Melrose Park in Houston, where they took turns raping and sexually assaulting her before stabbing her to death. the probability of subsequent activity would be low. He even opined that in a situation of 70 years before parole eligibility, there would be no probability because he suspected that the individual would be dead by then. 2934, 106 L.Ed.2d 256 (1989). Cantu's final two arguments are both framed as claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. [THE STATE:] During this time when they're saying what they did to the girl, what's [appellant] doing or saying? Patricia's estranged husband suffered through a long period of being considered a suspect in his wife's murder. The inexplicable act of random predation struck a chord among city residents as few other cases. denied, 516 U.S. 946, 116 S.Ct. Our concern is that the indigent defendant have access to a competent psychiatrist for the purpose we have discussed, and as in the case of the provision of counsel we leave to the State the decision on how to implement this right. The state trial court denied such relief on June 7, 2006, after it adopted the prosecution's proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. 2934, 106 L.Ed.2d 256 (1989). Given the sparsity of the victim impact evidence, the fact that it was not mentioned by the State during arguments (appellant did briefly refer to this testimony during his punishment arguments), and the overwhelming focus during the punishment phase on appellant's behavior and the circumstances of the offense, we conclude the victim impact evidence made no contribution to punishment. Tony was preceded in death by his parents, his wife Janie P. Cantu, brother Octavanio Cantu, sister Senaida Peralta and granddaughter Raquel Villa. The gang members took Jenny and Elizabeth from the clearing into a wooded area, leaving the juvenile behind, saying he was "too little to watch". [DEFENSE:] Excuse me, [prosecutor's name omitted]. The price of the Beefy Crunch Burrito had gone up from 99 cents to $1.49 and. The 14-year-old, Venancio Medellin, was handled in juvenile court and given the maximum sentence, split between juvenile and adult prison facilities.
