Texas executes Ivan Cantu, despite questions about guilt and pleas from officials and celebrities

The State of Texas has executed Ivan Cantu for the murder of his cousin, James Mosqueda, and Mosqueda’s fiancée, Amy Kitchen, in 2000 in a north Dallas suburb.

Cantu was convicted of the crimes in 2001 but has maintained his innocence ever since.

Cantu was pronounced dead at 6:47 p.m. CT at the Huntsville Unit, according to Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials. They confirmed anti-death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean was with Cantu in the death chamber as she’d pledged to be after becoming involved in advocating on his behalf.

Two of Kitchen’s family members and a family friend witnessed the execution, and no members of Mosqueda’s family attended, according TDCJ spokesperson Amanda Hernandez.

Greg Willis, the district attorney for Collin County, where Cantu was convicted, issued a statement listing evidence in the case and showing an image of the victims.

“After over two decades of multiple state and federal courts comprehensively reviewing his conviction, Ivan Cantu has finally met with justice tonight. My hopeful prayer is for the victims’ families, friends, and loved ones to find a long-awaited sense of peace,” the statement read.

Michael Hagerty/Houston Public Media

In recent years, a private investigator who created a true crime podcast unearthed proof that a key witness in Cantu’s trial had lied in her testimony. Later, another key witness came forward to admit he’d also lied.

Those revelations — and other developments that cast doubt on the forensic evidence used to convict Cantu — have led former jurors in the case to come forward expressing concerns. Jeff Calhoun, the former jury foreman in the trial, wrote an opinion piece in the Austin American-Statesman this week titled “I helped put Ivan Cantu on death row. Now I feel like I was fooled.“

But, on Tuesday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected the latest appeal Cantu’s attorney filed on Feb. 20 that alleged additional false testimony and the ineffectiveness of his court-appointed attorneys.

In recent months, the case drew the attention of celebrities like Martin Sheen, Kim Kardashian, Susan Sarandon, and anti-death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean to call for the execution to be called off, championing a MoveOn.org petition drive.

However, the district attorney’s office in Collin County, where Cantu was convicted, stood firm in holding to the execution date.

Cantu had two prior execution dates, the most recent of which was April 26, 2023. But a district judge ordered his execution date be withdrawn, saying “additional proceedings are necessary” in his case.

But, four months later, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected Cantu’s appeal without considering the merits of the new evidence and revelations because of procedural reasons tied to the first appeal in his case, filed by his previous, court-appointed appellate attorney who had asked to be removed from Cantu’s case citing her age and ability to adequately represent him. But a judge forced her to remain on the case.

In an interview with Houston Public Media from death row on Feb. 14, Cantu had an analogy for the situation.

“You’ve caught the ball, but you’re out of bounds,” he said.

However, some family members of the victims feel differently about Cantu’s case. In an email last year, a close family member of Mosqueda (who asked not to be identified) told Houston Public Media they felt confident the right person was behind bars for the murders:

“There is no winner in this. The needless loss of lives that led to this left three families forever saddened. I do believe justice will be served, and true healing will take a lifetime.”