Despite numerous protests from human rights advocates and celebrities, Texas executed Ivan Cantu, 50, on Wednesday evening for the murder of his cousin James Mosqueada and his cousin’s fiancée Amy Kitchen who were fatally shot in Dallas in 2000.
Cantu was pronounced dead at 6:47pm CT on Wednesday at Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville. He was executed more than 20 years after his initial conviction. "I want you all to know that I don’t think that this situation here will bring you closure," Cantu said prior to his execution.
Cantu had long maintained his innocence claiming that he was framed by a rival drug dealer of Mosqueada’s. He had argued that his counsel was ineffective, pointing out that no witnesses were called during the guilt-innocence phase of his trial.
The case took a turn when the jury foreman in the initial 2001 trial, Jeff Calhoun, learned of new evidence decades later. A key witness in the prosecution’s original case, Jeff Boettcher, called investigators claiming he had lied about his initial testimony.
"By no means am I protesting the death penalty, by no means am I protesting our judicial system, and I’m certainly not protesting Gov. Abbott," Calhoun said before the execution, adamantly affirming his support for the governor. "I'm simply asking that this be looked at a little deeper before the unripened fruit is taken off the tree."
Cantu’s mother, Sylvia Cantu, had supported her son until the end telling CNN on Tuesday, "I’m still holding out hope that they press the pause button and allow Ivan’s attorney to go in there and present the evidence that she has," she said, "and hopefully, be able to exonerate him."
According to Texas Death Penalty Fact, The Lone Star State has executed 585 people since 1982, including eight in 2023.
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