Missing and Murdered Children

Today, July 11, 2006, at 6:19 p.m. Texas time Derrick Sean O’Brien was executed. He died about seven minutes after the lethal drugs were introduced into his system.

I think it was fair that he was executed and fair that he died pretty much pain free.

His attorney tried to stop his execution by claiming that it was unfair that the state of Texas does not allow for appeals challenging the painful and inhumane execution using lethal drugs. The courts decided that his argument would not fly and the execution went off as planned.

The other five convicted murderers have also challenged at various times the unfairness of their convictions. Jose Medellin, a Mexican National, believes his constitutional rights were violated. You can read about his plight here. Two others were only seventeen at the time of their crimes. Their death sentences were commuted to life in prison because the Supreme Court decided it is cruel and unusual punishment to execute someone who commits a crime prior to their eighteenth birthday. Go figure that logic.

Yes, there is so much unfairness in the world.

It was unfair that these six young men decided to torture, rape and murder two young girls for their enjoyment. It is unfair that they killed them after they begged for their lives. Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman were brutalized and treated very unfairly. They did not know in advance that they were going to die.

All of the accused were afforded all of the fairness the judicial system has to offer, thirteen plus years of fairness. The fairness is still being meted out to the remaining five defendants.

Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman’s fairness in life ended on June 24, 1993.

July 18, 2008 - 4:30p.m. PST:

The time has come for one of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman’s murderer-rapists to face his punishment - death. Jose Medellin’s execution date is August 5.

If all goes well Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena will have justice.

But of course there is a little bit of a problem. It appears that there is still a little issue of Jose’s rights being violated because he was not allowed access to advice from the Mexican Consulate at the time of his arrest.

Mexican authorities filed a petition to the World Court asking for a stay of execution in the case of Jose Medellin and other Mexican National Texas death row inmates.

The petition sought to halt executions to allow for review of the killers’ cases to determine whether denying them access to the Mexican Consulate after arrest impaired their trial defenses.

I wonder if denying Elizabeth and Jennifer their right to walk home without being raped and murdered impaired their rights in any way. Certainly I am being sarcastic.

The Mexican government reasons that “the paramount interest in human life is at stake,” according to the court’s order. If Medellin and the other nationals are executed without additional court reviews, “Mexico would forever be deprived of the opportunity to vindicate its rights and those of the nationals concerned.”

The paramount interest in human life was at stake when Elizabeth and Jennifer were innocently walking home. We need to stop allowing Mexican citizens free reign to cross our borders, molest, rape and murder our women and children. If the Mexican government does not like how we prosecute and mete out justice to their citizens then they need to figure out a way to keep their citizens from coming to the United States of America.

Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman’s parents are forever deprived of seeing their daughters live out their lives.

Jose Medellin is an evil person. He does not deserve to breathe the same air as law-abiding citizens breathe.

After the brutal rape of these two young girls was over, 5 of the 6 took her Jennifer off somewhere else and strangled her with a belt. Two of those murderers held on to each end of the belt, pulling on it around her neck until it broke. After that, they strangled her with her own shoelace. Guess who was holding each end of the belt? Sean O’Brien and Jose Medellin.

Medellin later complained that “the bitch wouldn’t die” and that it would have been “easier with a gun”.

Medellin wanted an easy murder. He wanted Jennifer to give up and die.

This fight with the Mexican government and the World Court has been going on since 2004 when they ruled Medellin’s case and that of other foreign nationals were not informed of their right to contact their respective consulates at the time of their arrests. The ruling then was the cases had to be reviewed. In 2005, President Bush ordered state courts, and Texas in particular, to review the Medellin case. However, in March of this year, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the President cannot decide alone to enforce an International Treaty without consulting with the legislative branch. On June 20 the Mexican government made an emergency appeal to the World Court to stop the executions of 5 Mexican Nationals, including Medellin. On July 16 the World Court issued their order for Texas to stop the 5 planned executions.

Apparently at issue is that all members of the World Court agree to comply with any and all decisions and no appeals are allowed. The worry voiced among some law scholars is that if the U.S. does not comply with the orders of the World Court, then other countries may feel they do not have to comply with future orders handed down.

The official statement from Texas Governor Perry’s office is as follows:

“The world court has no standing in Texas and Texas is not bound by a ruling or edict from a foreign court,” Perry spokesman Robert Black said. “It is easy to get caught up in discussions of international law and justice and treaties. It’s very important to remember that these individuals are on death row for killing our citizens.”

The fathers of the murdered children agree. It is time for justice for their daughters. As far as I am concerned the feelings of the family members trump the rights and feelings of the murderer, the Mexican government, or the World Court.

July 31, 2008:

The closer the execution date of Jose Medellin draws near, more people are coming forward to try and convince Governor Perry and the Parole and Pardon Board that it is in the best interest of the United States for the execution to be put on hold to allow for case review. Some how I find myself chuckling at the thought that the senators and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice are not really concerned with the violation of the rights of Jose Medellin. Their concern is for our citizens who may get into trouble in other countries.

“…U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice have written Governor Perry asking him to stop the execution of Jose Medellin on Aug 5 in order to protect Americans abroad. They join state Senator Rodney Ellis, who has also asked Perry to stop the execution…”

This according to Texas Senator Rodney Ellis and Professor Mark Craig:

By granting a reprieve, Gov. Perry and the Board of Pardons will enhance the reputation of Texas and the United States throughout the world. That may not mean much to some, but to the American missionary, teacher or tourist in Central Asia, in East Asia, Africa or the Middle East or elsewhere, it just might mean a lot.

Again, the concern is not about the rights of the person being executed, it is about American citizens traveling abroad. Most American citizens traveling abroad are wealthy enough to hire an attorney if they should get into trouble in a foreign land.

Our leaders do not want other countries given the excuse or reason to not follow the rules, even though there are plenty of times during the current administration that we have done exactly that. I can think of holding people as prisoners for months without right to counsel or due process.

I can think of the great debate I watched the other night regarding the practice of water boarding during interrogations of prisoners. The current administration cannot come to an agreement of whether that is torture or a good way of extracting information. I believe the reason they do not want to admit that water boarding is torture is because they would have to admit, one more time, our government, our military has been violating the Geneva Accord. I am going to guess if one of our soldiers is exposed to water boarding we will yell about the Geneva Accord and cry foul about torturing our soldiers.

We live under a current administration that wants to have things both ways.

I don’t usually discuss politics on this blog. Stepping off of soap box.

The facts are that Jose Medellin, an illegal alien, murdered and raped two children who were citizens of this country and had every right to live. When he submitted his issue to the Appellate Court about not being given the right of speaking to the Mexican Consulate at the time of his arrest; the Appellate Court ruled his argument was not filed in a timely manner. It should have been brought up during his trial and the Appellate Court was not interested in the argument.

All Jose and his friends had to do that night was follow the laws of the land. They didn’t follow the laws, they broke them in the worst way possible. Now he wants the laws of the land and the World Court to defend and protect him.

August 5, 2008 - 12:30a.m. PST:

If all goes according to plan Jose Medellin’s execution will be performed at 6p.m. today CST. Appeals were filed asking that a 240 day stay be granted so the case can be reviewed. A request was also made to commute Medellin’s sentence to life. Both appeals were denied. Jose Medellin was taken to the area of Huntsville State Prison where the executions are performed a day early for security reasons.

Jose’s attorney came up with a pretty poor statement:

Donald Francis Donovan, one of Medellin’s attorneys, said in a prepared statement he was disappointed with the board’s action, saying it went against “the interests of the nation and risks the safety of thousands of Americans traveling and living abroad.”

One would think he would come up with a reason why his client should not be put to death other than to speak of national security and the safety of other citizens. Oh, well.

5p.m. PST:

It appears that Medellin is getting one more shot at an appeal. He was close to being taken to the death chamber when the United States Supreme Court put a hold on the death warrant while they consider this final appeal. The argument being presented to the US Supreme Court is as follows:

His lawyers asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to stop the execution until legislation can be passed to formalize case reviews ordered by the International Court of Justice. Medellin’s supporters say either Congress or the Texas Legislature should be given a chance to pass a law setting up procedures for new hearings.

This is just another version of Medellin’s attorneys asking for the extra 240-day stay. By that time Congress will have reconvened and they can consider the bill that is already on the floor for consideration.

I am not familiar with this type of thing but I am guessing if the Supreme Court does not come to a decision tonight then the judge from the case will have to issue another death warrant. It is only a guess on my part.

If anything, this extra waiting time should make Medellin suffer just a little bit more.

10p.m. PST:

Jose Medellin drew his last breath on this earth at 9:57p.m. CST; nine minutes after the lethal injection was administered. He apologized for his actions that caused pain to the families and hoped his execution would give them some sort of closure.

Next up - Peter Cantu. When is he going to get an execution date? What is the hold up?

August 10, 2008

Peter Cantu is still awaiting a date for his execution. I have not been able to find any information regarding why the date is not set. I can only imagine it is because his appeals have not been exhausted.

He has many pleas on the internet for pen pals such as the following:

Aug 2005 My name is Peter Cantu and I’m a deathrow prisoner writing this letter in order to reach out to the world for a hand in friendship,with the tremendous hopes that some out there will accept my friendship during this time of tribulation. I’m a 30 year Hispanic and I like reading fictional novels, newsapers, magazines, and listening to any good music. I also enjoy sports and I exercise everyday. I’m normally a quiet person but I do like to engage in good intellectual conversation. I seek anyone who is non-judgemental, open minded, and honest which are mutual traits that I reciprocate willingly because honesty is a foundation to lasting friendships. I live in a world of darkness and desolatin but refuse to allow the negative to swallow me up. This is a world of confinement for 23 hours a day but its your letter that humanize, where the Texas officials have sought to dehumanize me. Its your letters that light this world of darkness and brings forth smiles in a place where smiles shouldn’t exist. When you reach forth across a vast ocean thousands of miles away, in an effort to bring friendship, you in essence actually pull a man out of the abyss. I’m not sure what tomorrow may bring byt today is well within my grasp. In the midst of lifes most chaotic storm, its your friendship that makes me even stronger as I stand in the storm. So I beseech you, with an open heart to please take a moment of your precious time and send me your lines of friendship which will be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time in reading this letter and I truly hope to hear from you soon.  Sincerely, Peter

Notice how he tries to make it clear that he is a victim of the system - “…where the Texas officials have sought to dehumanize me…”

I suppose there is a reason why he would not state his sorrow at the crimes he committed and how sorry he is for dehumanizing and taking the lives of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman. Maybe if he admitted guilt it would have an effect on his appeals.

Jenny and Elizabeth, murdervictims.com, July 19, 2008.

Texas Still Plans to Execute Killer Despite U.N. Order,’ The Houston Chronicle, July 17, 2008.

Protest Execution of Jose Medellin on August 5, 2008, upcoming.yahoo.com, July 31, 2008.

State Senator Rodney Ellis and Craig Jackson, Perry has a Chance to Show Another Side of Texas Justice, The Houston Chronicle, July 31, 2008.

Roseanna Ruiz, Medellin Execution on After Pleas Fail, The Houston Chronicle, August 5, 2008.

Medellin Execution Put on Hold, khou.com, August 5, 2008.

Allan Turner and Roseanna Ruiz, Medellin Executed for Rape, Murder of Houston Teens, The Houston Chronicle, August 5, 2008.

Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty, August 2008.