Currently Empty: $0.00
The convicted killer from Collin County was scheduled to be executed Wednesday despite claims of innocence
COLLIN COUNTY – The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has denied a stay of execution for Ivan Cantu.
The man convicted of murdering two people in 2000 is still scheduled to be executed on Wednesday, despite many influential voices claiming he is not guilty. The leaked court documents lend weight to those who insist Cantu is guilty.
Allegations that Cantu had ineffective defense counsel during his capital murder trial have been a major theme among those currently speaking out to save him from execution, including his mother.
“Collin County, stop my son's execution,” said Sylvia Cantu, Ivan Cantu's mother. “That's not fair. You know it's not fair and you have to take this back.”
A rally outside the Collin County courthouse last year was the start of a high-profile campaign by several prominent voices claiming Cantu was wrongly convicted of killing his cousin, James Mosqueda, and the victim's fiancee, Amy Kitchen. in the year 2000.
Many of the calls for a retrial are based on what Cantu's supporters claim was a feeble attempt by his lawyers to defend him during his trial.
But court documents obtained by CBS News Texas reveal that Cantu confessed to his lawyers before the trial that he had committed the murders.
Those attorneys filed an affidavit when they were later accused by Cantu of not allowing him to undergo a psychological evaluation before trial.
Lawyers said it was based on the fact that he had admitted to them that he killed Mosqueda and Kitchen in revenge because Mosqueda owed him drug money. This led them to believe that a state-sponsored psychiatric evaluation could show that Cantu was a sociopath, which they believed would “significantly decrease (their) already slim chances of (a reduction in) a conviction eternal”.
The attorneys even cited Cantu's confession, noting his “admission that he had indeed killed Mosqueda for 'ripping him off' in a drug deal, and that Kitchen was merely at Mosqueda's house and that he “didn't wanted to leave”. any witness'”.
“The admission that he had killed these people out of revenge may have prevented them from putting him through a psychological exam because they thought he would do a lot of bad things and come across as a sociopath,” Toby said. Shook, a criminal defense attorney.
Shook says the attorneys' statement makes a compelling argument that Cantu is in fact guilty and may explain why his trial attorneys were unable to mount a stronger case.
“It's very plausible,” Shook said, “They thought the exam would go badly for him. It could help the state prove he's a future danger to society.”
In a statement to CBS News Texas, Collin County DA Greg Willis said, “I remain absolutely convinced that Ivan Cantu brutally murdered two innocent victims in 2000.”
Unless Governor Abbott or the US Supreme Court intervenes, Cantu will be sentenced to death on Wednesday.
