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Ivan Cantu case: Faces execution despite new evidence
Cantu was sentenced to death for the 2000 murders of his cousin and cousin's fiancé, James Mosqueda and Amy Kitchen. Cantu’s attorney, Gena Bunn, wants a court hearing on new evidence. She says a key witness admitted he lied, and a Rolex watch Cantu was accused of stealing was later discovered.
MCKINNEY, Texas - In six days, a 50-year-old Dallas man is scheduled for execution next week in a double murder case that has received national attention.
Ivan Cantu's execution was postponed twice previously.
His supporters are asking for a stay of execution, while the district attorney says he's convinced the evidence at trial was solid.
Cantu was convicted of murdering his cousin and his cousin's fiancé in 2001.
The case has now drawn celebrity attention, and his supporters delivered a petition on Thursday to the Collin County district attorney asking for a stay of execution.
Supporters at the Collin County Courthouse said they are not asking for a new trial but rather a one-day hearing that can weigh what they say is new evidence in the case.
A well-known activist, Sister Helen Prejean, is one of Cantu's supporters.
"He asked me to be with him if Texas executes him on the twenty-eighth," she said. "‘Would you hold my hand and pray with me?’"
The group delivered 80,000 signatures to Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis calling on him to request a stay of execution.
Cantu was sentenced to death for the 2000 murders of his cousin and cousin's fiancé, James Mosqueda and Amy Kitchen.
Cantu’s attorney, Gena Bunn, wants a court hearing on new evidence. She says a key witness admitted he lied, and a Rolex watch Cantu was accused of stealing was later discovered.
"We have pleas pending in multiple courts right now," she said. "I am hopeful a court will give Ivan his day in court."
While many who gathered at the steps of the Collin County Courthouse are opponents of the death penalty, one man who made a three-hour drive to McKinney is not.
Jeff Calhoun was the jury foreman at trial 23 years ago.
"I’m not here to protest capital punishment. I had to sign a document that I support capital punishment," he said. "It ain’t easy to sign the document that says, ‘We the jury are signing the document that says we the jury are turning this man over to the state to be executed.’ But it is our civic duty, and we did it. And I didn’t look back until this fellow, Matt, got ahold of me."
Matt Duff is a private investigator who launched a podcast about Cantu's case.
"The state can’t find Ivan’s DNA on the bloody jeans and socks," he said. "If that came out at trial, that is game over."
The podcast "Cousins by Blood" drew national attention, including that of celebrities Kim Kardashian and Martin Sheen.
DA Willis refuses to use the conviction integrity unit in his office which could delay the execution and open an urgent inquiry.
But Thursday, the district attorney remained steadfast that "Ivan Cantu brutally murdered two innocent victims in 2000. My belief is anchored in the undeniable evidence presented at trial, reinforced by over two decades of exhaustive state and federal appeals post-conviction. This compelling evidence includes DNA analysis, fingerprint identification, ballistic matching and corroborating witness testimony."
One of the trial jurors told Cantu's mother, Sylvia, that he disagreed.
"There was so much you didn’t hear," Sylvia said. "They told me I would testify, and they didn’t allow me to testify."
"I’m hoping you will get that opportunity," Calhoun told Sylvia. "That is why I am here."
"That means so much to me," she said. "We have a way to bring him home, and it is not in a box. He is going to be a free man."