29 February 2024 , 00:57
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A Texas inmate whose case was taken up by Kim Kardashian became the second person to be executed in the US this year on Wednesday evening, put to death for murdering his cousin and his cousin's girlfriend over 20 years ago.
Ivan Cantu, 50, was pronounced dead at 6.47pm local time in the state penitentiary in which he was incarcerated in Huntsville, Texas, a small city about 70 miles north of Houston. The execution had been slated to begin at 6pm local time (midnight GMT).
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Cantu was sentenced to death in 2001 for murdering his cousin and his cousin's girlfriend (Texas Department of Criminal Jus)Cantu was convicted of murder and sentenced to death in 2001 for killing his cousin James Mosqueda, 27, and Mosqueda's girlfriend, Amy Kitchen, 22, in November 2000 in what was dubbed a robbery that took place in the couple's north Dallas home.
Mosqueda had allegedly been dealing illicit drugs, and Cantu was attempting to steal cocaine, marijuana and loads of cash from his cousin's home, prosecutors alleged. In 2001, he was condemned despite testimony that argued the incident was the result of a rival drug dealer beefing with his cousin over money, not a robbery turned murder.
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Cantu has claimed his innocence since his trial and conviction, and throughout the years, several high-profile figures — including celebrities Martin Sheen and Kim Kardashian, who is currently in training to be a lawyer, following in her father's foosteps, Texas politicians and twins Joaquin and Julian Castro, who are a US Representative and the former US Housing Secretary, respectively, and several human rights organisations such as Catholics Mobilizing Network (CMN).
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Kim Kardashian picked up Cantu's case in January after hearing about it from a notable Catholic advocate. She's studying to become a lawyer like her late father Robert (AFP via Getty Images)Kardashian's outspoken support for Cantu garnered widespread media attention in January, when she first posted about Cantu and his case using a picture of the incorrect Ivan Cantu — she shared instead a photo of a New York businessman who has no relation to the death row inmate or the case.
Her post was removed, and she quickly replaced it with a message aimed at Texas Gov. Greg Abbott asking him to delay Cantu's execution as she also called upon her Texas-based fans to contact his office or that of the Department of Corrections to advocate for a stay on the killing.
CMN asked people to do the same, throwing in the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, which just recently voted 7-0 against commuting Cantu's sentence to life in prison. The board also rejected a four-month reprieve on the execution, which would allow Cantu's lawyers to examine new evidence CMN said has come to light in the case that "was not heard by the jury and has never been considered by any court" that the group says "casts significant doubt on Ivan's conviction."
Despite new evidence in the case and even several jurors calling for a stay on Cantu's execution, the state voted to move forward with it (Sygma via Getty Images)Cantu's lawyers opted not to appeal his case to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), with one stating that they couldn't find a viable path to the high court given the circumstances of the case.
Three jurors from the trial have since come forward as well and asked for a delay on the execution, stating that they now have doubts about the case. His lawyers have also argued that a new trial should take place since one of the prosecution's witnesses, the brother of Cantu's then-girlfriend Amy Boettcher, deemed himself an unfit witness due to his history of drug abuse.
Cantu was previously scheduled to be executed in April 2023, but that killing was cancelled. The convict has continued to maintain his innocence even as Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis, whose office convicted Cantu back in 2001, has continued to assert his belief that Cantu is guilty, adding that no new evidence presented would alter "the cornerstones of the State's case."
Kardashian, until Cantu's dying breath, continued to advocate for him, as did the other groups and celebrities. Kardashian started talking about his case on January 26 after Sister Helen Prejean told her about it. Prejean is a leading anti-death penalty advocate and a Sister in the Catholic faith.
But despite everyone's best efforts, Cantu became the second person executed in the US in 2024. He was slated to be the third, but the execution of Thomas Eugene Creech, which was scheduled for Wednesday morning in Idaho, was botched — executioners couldn't find veins to insert an IV, leading the prison warden to halt the killing.
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