Guide Note
Elizabeth Pena was one of two teenage victims in a 1993 rape and murder case in Houston. Six local gang members were convicted of raping and strangling both Pena and her 14-year-old friend, Jennifer Ertman.1
One of the assailants, Jose Medellin, is scheduled for execution by lethal injection on August 5, 2008.
Fast Facts
- Age 16 at death
- Attended Houston, Texas' Waltrip High School
- Raped and brutalized for over an hour2
- Strangled to death
International Appeal for Megellin
Medellin's lawyers, as well as the International Court of Justice, have argued that his execution would violate a 1963 treaty, and his case should be reviewed.1 Despite President Bush's request that Texas review the case, the Supreme Court ruled in March 2008 that the state could proceed with the execution.3 Medellin is scheduled for lethal injection on August 5, 2008.
Categories
