An inmate who sits on death row in Texas has long advocated for his innocence in a crime he was convicted of more than 20 years ago. Allegedly, the conviction was based on false testimony and questionable evidence.
Ivan Cantu, scheduled for execution Wednesday, was condemned for the killing of his cousin, James Mosqueda, 27, and his cousin's girlfriend, Amy Kitchen, 22, during a November 2000 robbery at their north Dallas home.
His execution by lethal injection is due to take place at the state penitentiary in Huntsville.
According to prosecutors, Cantu, aged 50, murdered Mosqueda, a known illegal drug dealer, and Kitchen while attempting to rob his cousin's residence of cocaine, marijuana, and money.
Since being convicted in 2001, Cantu adamantly denies his involvement, claiming a rival drug dealer murdered his cousin over a money dispute.
According to The Associated Press, The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Tuesday denied Cantu's request to vacate his execution, dismissing his petition on procedural grounds and without reviewing its merits.
Cantu's lawyer is expected to submit a final appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
On Monday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted 7-0 against community Cantu's death sentence to a lesser penalty.
Members also rejected granted a four-month reprieve.
Three jurors from Cantu's trial have also asked for a delay in execution, stating they now have doubts revolving the case.
Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis, whose office convicted Cantu, said evidence presented at trial proved Cantu's guilt.
Cantu's attorney, Gena Bunn, wrote in Cantu's clemency application that new evidence "impugns the integrity of the State's case for guilt and raises the specter that the State of Texas could execute an innocent man."
However, incriminating evidence says otherwise. In Cantu's apartment, police found bloody jeans with the victims' DNA and a key to the victims' home. Police recovered the gun used in the fatal shooting from the home of Cantu's ex-girlfriend. Mosqueda's blood was found on the gun's barrel, while Cantu's fingerprints were found on the gun's magazine.
The AP reported that in a 2005 affidavit, Matthew Goeller, one of Cantu's trial attorneys, said Cantu admitted to him "he had indeed killed Mosqueda for 'ripping him off' on a drug deal" and that Kitchen was killed because she was a witness.
Amy Boettcher, Cantu's then-fiancee, who has since died, testified at his trial that he had admitted committing the murders and took her to Mosqueda's home later to show her the bodies and look for hidden drugs.
News outlet, Barrons, said lawyers for Cantu maintain that Boettcher lied on the witness stand and the bloody jeans, which were too large for Cantu, were planted in the trash can by someone else.
A Celebrity Outlook on Cantu's Case:
Cantu's case has drawn the attention of the Catholic Church and celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Martin Sheen.
The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops has urged that the execution be halted because of "serious uncertainties" surrounding the case.
Kardashian, who is active in prison reform, urged Texas's conviction integrity unit to look into the case.
"The time to act to save Ivan Cantu is now!" she said in a post on X.
Sheen, an opponent of the death penalty, appealed on Instagram for people to sign the MoveOn petition seeking a stay of execution.
"Ivan was wrongfully convicted of murder more than 20 years ago," the star of "The West Wing" and "Apocalypse Now" said. "Time is running out."
Cantu's lawyers continue to file last-minute appeals seeking to halt his execution, and a MoveOn.org petition urging Texas Governor Greg Abbott to grant a stay of execution to Cantu has drawn nearly 150,000 signatures.
Convicted serial killer Thomas Creech, 73, is also set to receive a lethal injection in Idaho on Wednesday.
If Cantu's execution proceeds, it would be the first this year in Texas.
