“I don’t want to die, they want to put me on a stretcher for a crime I didn’t commit. “We are doing everything possible to present the information to the Cortes, but it is as if they do not care,” these were the words of Ivan Cantu, who was executed this Wednesday in Texas. Despite the final sentence of the authorities, the man always maintained his confession of innocence, supported by his lawyers, who claim to have evidence that he did not commit the double homicide for which they accused him.
The deceased man granted his statements to Telemundodays before being executed.
At 6:47 p.m. on February 28, Cantú, 50, died by lethal injection at the Huntsville state penitentiary, located in Texas. His conviction unleashed condemnation not only from his family and lawyers, but also from celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Martin Sheen and Jane Fonda, who described his case as an injustice.
Controversy in Texas. In one hour, Iván Cantú (50), a Mexican sentenced to death in 2000 for a double homicide, will be executed. His girlfriend at the time incriminated him. However, another witness acknowledged that he lied to blame Cantú. They ask the governor of Texas to… pic.twitter.com/HudTB8nHr6
— Robert Lobo (@RobertLobo_) February 29, 2024
Despite the voices of protest and the request for clemency denied by the State Board of Pardons and Parole, the execution took place this Wednesday, fueling the demand of those who believed in his innocence.
Why was Iván Cantú executed?
Ivan Cantu, whose father was Mexican and born in Dallas, was convicted of the double homicide of his cousin James Mosqueda, 27, and his fiancée, Amy Kitchen, 22. The event occurred in 2000.
It was not until 2001 that Cantú was convicted for the incident. One of the most notable bases for her conviction was the testimony of her girlfriend Amy Boettcher, who said that he took her to where the bodies were and to look for drugs at the site. A brother of Boettcher also testified against her, although according to El Heraldo, the subject recanted in 2022 after his sister died.
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Telemundo He noted that other evidence against him was pants and socks with blood from the victims in his trash can. In addition, the car of his murdered cousin was located outside Cantú’s apartment. However, the lawyers of the man, already executed, and his mother assured that they placed all these objects to make him look guilty.
Cantú maintained until the end that the person responsible for the double murder was a drug trafficker. “Amy lied,” the man said in an interview with Telemundo, days before being executed.
In the morning hours of this Wednesday, February 28, Iván Cantú received the last visit from his mother, with whom he shared for two hours. Even at that moment, they hoped that the execution would not take place. However, they administered the lethal injection, something that does not stop the intention of his lawyers and relatives to prove his innocence.
This could be the last photo of Ivan Cantu and his mother Sylvia. It was taken this morning, during a two-hour visit.
Cantu is scheduled to be executed today at 6 PM, but remains hopeful that @GovAbbott will grant him a 30-day reprieve. pic.twitter.com/3KovlEvCux
— Lidia Terrazas (@LidiaTerrazas) February 28, 2024
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