Cantu has been on death row for over 20 years. He was sentenced to death in 2001, but has continued to maintain his innocence. Cantu’s first execution date in 2012 was rescheduled due to federal litigation over his case. In April 2023, the defense filed a last-minute appeal regarding false testimony during Cantu’s 2001 court case and new evidence, which resulted in a judge pausing his execution date for a second time.
Kardashian, who has been an outspoken supporter of prison reform since 2018, first called for action to help Cantu on Jan. 26.
“I heard about Ivan Cantu’s case from Sister Helen Prejean and was really moved by it. [...] The time to act to save Ivan Cantu is now!” Kardashian wrote on X in January.
Mosqueda, who was a drug dealer, and Kitchen were killed during a robbery in their North Dallas home in November 2000. Cantu alleges that a rival drug dealer framed him for the murders. Cantu has also accused police of taking "witness statements and testimony at face value and didn’t care to investigate the claims," which has resulted in "false and untruthful information to create a fraudulent narrative" that led to his conviction. Now, Cantu is set to be executed next week, barring a second last-minute appeal.I heard about Ivan Cantu’s case from Sister Helen Prejean and was really moved by it.
— Kim Kardashian (@KimKardashian) January 25, 2024
In 2001, Ivan was convicted of killing his cousin, James Mosqueda, and his fiancée, Amy Kitchen. Ivan has always maintained his innocence claiming that the rival drug dealer framed him for the… pic.twitter.com/N9SiXfroMv
Kardashian has joined the national petition to commute Cantu’s sentence, led by nun Sister Helen Prejean and supported by other celebrities, including Jane Fonda and Martin Sheen. Kardashian has worked toward commuting the death sentences of several inmates across the U.S., even previously calling on former President Donald Trump to take action to stop certain federal executions.
Cantu’s own petition maintains that much has been wrong in the case against him, including false testimony by the state’s star witness, that evidence that was withheld by the prosecution, key witnesses later recanted or had their testimony discredited, and that his defense team failed to put on a case at the trial. On Wednesday, Kardashian shared a link to a MoveOn.org petition for Cantu, which has received over 106,000 signatures.
“Ivan has 7 days to live. Please sign the petition to demand that Collin County DA Greg Willis request to withdraw the execution date,” Kardashian wrote on X on Feb. 21.
The Collin County Criminal District Attorney’s office has said its mission is "not to convict, but to see that justice is done." To explain how others can help Cantu’s cause, Kardashian shared information about how Texas now has a conviction integrity unit and that “the prosecutors offices are beginning to recognize that there are a lot of mistakes in convictions.”
“They encourage you to write into their integrity units about specific cases, so I am encouraging everyone to write in about the case of Ivan Cantu,” Kardashian wrote on X.
