SEAN O’BRIEN (EXECUTED IN TEXAS ON JULY 11, 2006)

            On this date, July 11, 2006, Sean O’Brien was the first of the three convicted killers of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena on June 24, 1993 to be executed by lethal injection in Texas. I wish there was a Joint Enterprise Law and all six of them would have been executed. Please go to the VFFDP Blog to learn more about the murders.

INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/obrien1030.htm

Final Meal:
Declined.

Final Words:
"I am sorry. I have always been sorry," O'Brien said, holding his head up and looking straight at relatives of his victims. "It is the worst mistake that I ever made in my whole life. Not because I am here but because of what I did and I hurt a lot of people, you and my family." He repeated again and again that he was sorry.

Internet Sources:
Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Executed Offenders (Derrick O'Brien)

Inmate: O'Brien, Sean Derrick
Date of Birth: 4/5/75
TDCJ#: 999131
Date Received: 11/18/94
Education: 9 years
Occupation: laborer
Date of Offense: 6/24/93
County of Conviction: Harris
Race: Black
Gender: Male
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 5 ft 08 in
Weight: 177

Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Texas Attorney General Media Advisory

MEDIA ADVISORY - Wednesday, July 5, 2006 - Derrick Sean O'brien Scheduled For Execution 

AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott offers the following information about Derrick Sean O’Brien, who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 11, 2006. On September 9, 1997, Derrick Sean O’Brien was sentenced to die for the June 1993 capital murder of Houston teenager Jennifer Ertman. A summary of the evidence presented at trial follows. 

FACTS OF THE CRIME
On the night of June 24, 1993, O’Brien participated in the gang initiation of Raul Omar Villareal. Four other gang members, Peter Cantu, Roman Sandoval, Joe Medellin, and Efrain Perez, were present at the initiation, as were Frank Sandoval and Vernancio Medellin, brothers of two of the gang members. The initiation consisted of Villareal fighting each of the other gang members for several minutes. Following this ritual, the gang members drank beer. 

At about 11:30 p.m., 14-year old Jennifer Ertman and 16 year old Elizabeth Pena ran across the gang initiation as they were returning home. The girls were raped and strangled. O’Brien and other gang members later boasted that they gang raped both girls. Autopsies revealed that both girls died of trauma to the neck consistent with strangulation. The girls’ bodies were found on June 28, 1993. 

They were close to each other, and were both in an advanced state of decomposition. 

O’Brien was arrested on June 29, 1993, as were Peter Cantu, Efrain Perez, Jose and Vernancio Medellin, and Raul Villareal. When police knocked on O’Brien’s door and announced their presence, O’Brien attempted to run out the back door. He was arrested by officers waiting in back. After he was advised of his rights and informed he was under arrest for capital murder, O’Brien told police that he gave his belt to Joe Medellin, who used it to strangle one of the girls. At Medellin’s instruction, O’Brien grabbed one end of the belt and helped strangle the victim. They pulled so hard that one end of the belt broke off. O’Brien consented to a search of his apartment, and the police found the belt. 

Sean O’Brien

PROCEDURAL HISTORY
February 4, 1994 -- O’Brien was indicted by a Harris County grand jury for the capital murder of Jennifer Ertman. 

April 7, 1994 -- O’Brien was found guilty by a jury of capital murder. 

April 9, 1994 -- Following a separate punishment hearing, O’Brien was sentenced to death. 

May 15, 1996 -- The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed O’Brien’s conviction and sentence. 

January 21, 1997 -- The U.S. Supreme Court denied O’Brien’s petition for writ of certiorari. 

August 23, 2001 -- O’Brien filed an application for writ of habeas corpus in the state trial court. 

February 6, 2002 -- The Court of Criminal Appeals denied O’Brien’s application for writ of habeas corpus. 

May 16, 2002 -- O’Brien filed a federal petition for writ of habeas corpus in a U.S. district court. 

January 14, 2005 -- The federal district court dismissed O’Brien’s federal habeas petition and denied a certificate of appealibility. 

May 9, 2005 -- O’Brien requested permission to appeal from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

December 27, 2005 -- The Fifth Circuit Court denied O’Brien’ request to appeal the district court’s denial of his federal habeas petition. 

March 25, 2006 -- O’Brien petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari. This petition is currently pending. 

April 26, 2006 -- O’Brien asked the Supreme Court for a stay of execution. 

June 5, 2006 -- The Supreme Court declined to hear the case. PRIOR CRIMINAL HISTORY O’Brien had three prior arrests before committing this capital murder. He was arrested for shoplifting a pellet pistol, simple assault, and for stealing a car.