By EFE
29 Feb 2024, 08:16 AM EST
Washington – The Department of Criminal Justice of the state of Texas confirmed yesterday the death by lethal injection of prisoner Iván Cantú, who spent 22 years on death row and died declaring his innocence.
The inmate of Hispanic origin died at 6:47 p.m. local time (00:47 GMT) in the Huntsville prison and in his last words, provided to the media by the Department itself, he continued to insist on his innocence.
Cantú’s last words to the families of the victims
“I would like to address the Kitchens and Mosqueda families. I want you to know that I never killed James and Amy. And if I had done it, if I had known who did it, they would have been the first to know any information I had,” the text notes.
Cantú was sentenced to death in 2001 for the murder of his cousin, James Mosqueda, 27, and Mosqueda’s fiancée Amy Kitchen, 22, in Dallas in 2000.
The execution was postponed twice, in 2012 and 2023, and his defense requested last Thursday that the 50-year-old Hispanic be granted a new hearing, but on Tuesday the request was rejected.
“I want everyone to know that I did not kill James and Amy,” insisted Cantú, who thanked his family for their support, his lawyers and personalities such as porcast producer Matt Duff, who was interested in his case.
“I would especially like to thank Matt Duff for believing in me and digging deeper and unraveling the case that he made to show the world that I don’t belong on this stretcher, to keep fighting and keep searching and doing whatever it takes to find all the answers and close the truth,” he stated.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected the latest appeal seeking to prove Cantú’s innocence by offering new evidence that would prove that false witness statements were presented at trial and that court-appointed attorneys were ineffective in defending him.
The petition to stop the execution, backed by the group MoveOn, was filed with Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
Congressman Joaquín Castro has joined the cause, who asked last week that the case be reopened. “Texas should not rush to execute a potentially innocent man,” said the Democrat.
Cantú’s lawyer, Gena Bunn, and podcast producer Matt Duff maintain that they have found new evidence that would overthrow the testimony of the prosecution’s main witness, who has since died.
They also point out that there were errors on the part of a defense attorney who represented Cantú because he did not request DNA or ballistics tests, among others, and nor did he call any witnesses, according to the petition cited by the NBC channel.
In the final argument of the trial, Cantú’s then-lawyer admitted his client’s guilt against his will, which led the Hispanic to interrupt the trial and request to represent himself, but his request was denied.
The case has also attracted the attention of the public and celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Jane Fonda and Martin Sheen, who called for his sentence to be reviewed.