PETER ANTHONY CANTU (EXECUTED IN TEXAS ON 17 AUGUST 2010) [ARTICLE ON THE DEATH PENALTY OF THE WEEK ~ SUNDAY 11 AUGUST 2013 TO SATURDAY 17 AUGUST 2013]

On this date, 17 August 2010, Peter Anthony Cantu was the third of the three convicted killers of Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena on 24 June 1993 to be executed by lethal injection in Texas. Sean O’Brien was the first one and Jose Ernesto Medellin was the second one. I wish there was a Joint Enterprise Law and all six of them would have been executed. Please go to the VFFDP Blog to read the article of criticizing the Texan abolitionists.

Peter Anthony Cantu

INTERNET SOURCE: http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/cantu1224.htm

Summary: Cantu was the self-appointed leader of a gang in Houston that met on the night of June 24, 1993, to initiate a new member, Raul Villareal. The initiation involved fighting each member of the gang for a five- to ten- minute period. The gang then drank beer and engaged in horseplay. Elizabeth Pena, 16, and Jennifer Ertman, 14, were walking home from a friend's house, taking a shortcut along some railroad tracks when they stumbled upon the group. In a sadistic frenzy, the girls were forcibly gang-raped vaginally, orally, and anally for more than an hour. They were kicked, and had teeth knocked out, hair pulled out, and ribs broken. A red nylon belt, with an attacker tugging at each end, was pulled so tightly around Ertman's neck the belt snapped. Shoelaces were used to strangle Pena. The bodies of the two teenage girls were found four days after they failed to return from a friend's house. Later on the night of the murder, the group met at Cantu’s house to brag about their exploits. Cantu parceled out jewelry and money he had taken from the girls. Cantu's brother eventually called the police. Upon arrest, Cantu confessed, along with several of the others. 

Four of the other assailants were also convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. Derrick Sean O'Brien was executed in July 2006. Jose Medellin was executed in August 2008. Raul Omar Villareal and Efrain Perez were sentenced to death, but following the U.S. Supreme Court's 2005 ruling that executing criminals who were not yet 18 at the time of their crimes is unconstitutional, their sentences were commuted to life. Venancio Medellin, who was 14 at the time, was convicted of aggravated sexual assault and sentenced to 40 years in prison. 

Citations:
Cantu v. State, 939 S.W.2d 627 (Tex.Crim.App. 1997). (Direct Appeal)
Cantu v. Quarterman, 341 Fed.Appx. 55 (5th Cir. 2009). (Habeas) 

Final/Special Meal:
Enchiladas, fajitas and a cinnamon bun. 

Last Words:
None. 

Internet Sources:

Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Executed Offenders (Cantu)
Cantu, Peter Anthony
Date of Birth: 05/27/75
DR#: 999093
Date Received: 03/18/94
Education: GED
Occupation: Laborer
Date of Offense: 06/24/93
County of Offense: Harris
Native County: Harris
Race: White
Gender: Male
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 5' 06"
Weight: 135 

Prior Prison Record: Cantu is also serving a 10 year sentence in connection with an aggravated asault on a Houston man in January 1993. 

Summary of incident: Convicted in the abductions and murders of Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pena, 16, in Houston. The girls were abducted by Cantu and four members of a street gang he led as they walked along a set of railroad tracts, a shortcut home for them. Both wree sexually assaulted by the gang members, beaten, and strangled. Ertman was robbed of her rings, necklaces, and cash. Later Cantu and his accomplices were said to have joked about the brutal killings. 

Co-Defendants: Four accomplices were charged with capital murder following their arrest: Derrick Sean O'Brien, Raul Villareal, Efrian Perez, and Jose Medellin.