Elizabeth Christine Pena and Jennifer Ertman were friends who went to Waltrip High School in Houston. On the evening of June 24, 1993, they left a friend's apartment at 11:15 to head home and took a shortcut through T.C. Jester Park in order to make an 11:30 curfew. When Elizabeth and Jenny reached a bayou near a railroad trestle, they were confronted by six teenage members of a loose-knit "Black and White" gang. The gang members ran and grabbed Elizabeth and pulled her down an incline off of the tracks. Jenny had gotten free and could have run away but returned to Elizabeth when she cried out for Jenny to help her. The gang members then viciously attacked both girls. They were savagely raped, tortured, and beaten to death during a sixty minute time span.
Medellin had been previously arrested and charged as a juvenile for illegally carrying a weapon.
A jury convicted Medellin of the capital murder of Elizabeth Pena in September 1994 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in October 2001.
Also at trial, four of the other five defendants were convicted and sentenced to death after conviction (the other defendant was a minor who was ineligible for the death penalty under Texas law and instead drew a forty year prison sentence). Derrick Sean O'Brien was executed on July 11, 2006, and Peter Cantu remains on Death Row. The other two convicts that were sentenced to death have had their sentences commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole because they were 17 at the time of the murders. The case drew national attention because of the heinous nature of the crime, and also because it was the first time in Texas history that *five* people had been sentenced to death for the same crime. In 2008, Corey Mitchell's book "Pure Murder," which details the story of the killings of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman, was released and became a best seller.
In 2004, Mexico filed a lawsuit against the United States in the United Nations' world court over the denial of Medellin's consular rights. In response, President Bush issued a memorandum ordering Texas to hold hearings for Medellin and dozens of other inmates. In November 2006, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that Bush's order did not constitute binding federal law, and dismissed Medellin's appeal. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld the Texas courts' position. Governor Rick Perry also argued that the states are not bound by the rulings of international courts and that Texas is determined to hold killers responsible for their crimes, regardless of their nationality.
On August 5, 2008, Medellin was executed by lethal injection in the Walls Correctional Facility in Huntsville, Texas. He was pronounced dead at 6:16 P.M.
TDCJ #999134
∼Medellin, a Mexican national who spent most of his life in the United States, was condemned for the June 1993 murders of Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Peña, 16.
Medellin had been previously arrested and charged as a juvenile for illegally carrying a weapon.
A jury convicted Medellin of the capital murder of Elizabeth Pena in September 1994 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in October 2001.
Also at trial, four of the other five defendants were convicted and sentenced to death after conviction (the other defendant was a minor who was ineligible for the death penalty under Texas law and instead drew a forty year prison sentence). Derrick Sean O'Brien was executed on July 11, 2006, and Peter Cantu remains on Death Row. The other two convicts that were sentenced to death have had their sentences commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole because they were 17 at the time of the murders. The case drew national attention because of the heinous nature of the crime, and also because it was the first time in Texas history that *five* people had been sentenced to death for the same crime. In 2008, Corey Mitchell's book "Pure Murder," which details the story of the killings of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman, was released and became a best seller.
In 2004, Mexico filed a lawsuit against the United States in the United Nations' world court over the denial of Medellin's consular rights. In response, President Bush issued a memorandum ordering Texas to hold hearings for Medellin and dozens of other inmates. In November 2006, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that Bush's order did not constitute binding federal law, and dismissed Medellin's appeal. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld the Texas courts' position. Governor Rick Perry also argued that the states are not bound by the rulings of international courts and that Texas is determined to hold killers responsible for their crimes, regardless of their nationality.
On August 5, 2008, Medellin was executed by lethal injection in the Walls Correctional Facility in Huntsville, Texas. He was pronounced dead at 6:16 P.M.
TDCJ #999134
∼Medellin, a Mexican national who spent most of his life in the United States, was condemned for the June 1993 murders of Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Peña, 16.
Elizabeth Christine Pena and Jennifer Ertman were friends who went to Waltrip High School in Houston. On the evening of June 24, 1993, they left a friend's apartment at 11:15 to head home and took a shortcut through T.C. Jester Park in order to make an 11:30 curfew. When Elizabeth and Jenny reached a bayou near a railroad trestle, they were confronted by six teenage members of a loose-knit "Black and White" gang. The gang members ran and grabbed Elizabeth and pulled her down an incline off of the tracks. Jenny had gotten free and could have run away but returned to Elizabeth when she cried out for Jenny to help her. The gang members then viciously attacked both girls. They were savagely raped, tortured, and beaten to death during a sixty minute time span.
Medellin had been previously arrested and charged as a juvenile for illegally carrying a weapon.
A jury convicted Medellin of the capital murder of Elizabeth Pena in September 1994 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in October 2001.
Also at trial, four of the other five defendants were convicted and sentenced to death after conviction (the other defendant was a minor who was ineligible for the death penalty under Texas law and instead drew a forty year prison sentence). Derrick Sean O'Brien was executed on July 11, 2006, and Peter Cantu remains on Death Row. The other two convicts that were sentenced to death have had their sentences commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole because they were 17 at the time of the murders. The case drew national attention because of the heinous nature of the crime, and also because it was the first time in Texas history that *five* people had been sentenced to death for the same crime. In 2008, Corey Mitchell's book "Pure Murder," which details the story of the killings of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman, was released and became a best seller.
In 2004, Mexico filed a lawsuit against the United States in the United Nations' world court over the denial of Medellin's consular rights. In response, President Bush issued a memorandum ordering Texas to hold hearings for Medellin and dozens of other inmates. In November 2006, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that Bush's order did not constitute binding federal law, and dismissed Medellin's appeal. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld the Texas courts' position. Governor Rick Perry also argued that the states are not bound by the rulings of international courts and that Texas is determined to hold killers responsible for their crimes, regardless of their nationality.
On August 5, 2008, Medellin was executed by lethal injection in the Walls Correctional Facility in Huntsville, Texas. He was pronounced dead at 6:16 P.M.
TDCJ #999134
∼Medellin, a Mexican national who spent most of his life in the United States, was condemned for the June 1993 murders of Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Peña, 16.
Medellin had been previously arrested and charged as a juvenile for illegally carrying a weapon.
A jury convicted Medellin of the capital murder of Elizabeth Pena in September 1994 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in October 2001.
Also at trial, four of the other five defendants were convicted and sentenced to death after conviction (the other defendant was a minor who was ineligible for the death penalty under Texas law and instead drew a forty year prison sentence). Derrick Sean O'Brien was executed on July 11, 2006, and Peter Cantu remains on Death Row. The other two convicts that were sentenced to death have had their sentences commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole because they were 17 at the time of the murders. The case drew national attention because of the heinous nature of the crime, and also because it was the first time in Texas history that *five* people had been sentenced to death for the same crime. In 2008, Corey Mitchell's book "Pure Murder," which details the story of the killings of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman, was released and became a best seller.
In 2004, Mexico filed a lawsuit against the United States in the United Nations' world court over the denial of Medellin's consular rights. In response, President Bush issued a memorandum ordering Texas to hold hearings for Medellin and dozens of other inmates. In November 2006, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that Bush's order did not constitute binding federal law, and dismissed Medellin's appeal. The case went to the U.S. Supreme Court, which upheld the Texas courts' position. Governor Rick Perry also argued that the states are not bound by the rulings of international courts and that Texas is determined to hold killers responsible for their crimes, regardless of their nationality.
On August 5, 2008, Medellin was executed by lethal injection in the Walls Correctional Facility in Huntsville, Texas. He was pronounced dead at 6:16 P.M.
TDCJ #999134
∼Medellin, a Mexican national who spent most of his life in the United States, was condemned for the June 1993 murders of Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Peña, 16.
Advertisement
Advertisement
