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Join NowWATCH: CNN & TYT: Ivan Cantu’s Request for a Fair Day in Court
View the AC360 segment HERE
View the TYT segment HERE
LIVINGSTON, TX – On last night’s Anderson Cooper 360, CNN’s Ed Lavandera reported on the controversy surrounding Ivan Cantu’s scheduled execution by the state of Texas on February 28 in light of a collection of damning pieces of evidence that suggest Cantu may have been framed for a double homicide he was convicted of two decades ago. Lavandera visits with his former grade school classmate Cantu who remains at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit prison in West Livingston, Texas to discuss the circumstances of his case and his plea for a fair trial.
Concerns over both the prosecution’s and defense’s handling of Cantu’s original trial, have led to three jurors from the original case requesting a delay in Cantu’s execution so the new evidence can be admitted.
According to a legal filing made before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, there is more new evidence showing that the state’s star witness falsely testified and that the lead detective knew she was lying.
A growing public outcry over the execution and perjury in the trial since the Cousins by Blood podcast revealed the flaws in the case, with the outrage reaching a fever pitch as Cantu’s execution looms. This week, the Dallas Morning News published opinion pieces by its editorial board, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro, and Representative Joaquin Castro in support of Cantu’s case being reopened, due to a series of new pieces of evidence in Cantu’s case coming to light. On Friday, The Young Turks ran an in-depth segment on the case as well.
On Thursday, anti-death penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean; Cantu’s 2001 trial jury foreman, Jeffrey Calhoun, along with Cantu’s legal counsel, family, and friends delivered remarks and a petition with more than 100,000 signatures to Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, demanding that they delay his execution. This week, Kim Kardashian and Richard Branson also joined Prejean and actor Martin Sheen in making the case that Cantu’s execution must be delayed.
According to a legal filing made before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, there is more new evidence showing that the state’s star witness falsely testified and that the lead detective knew she was lying. Three jurors from the original case have requested a delay so the new evidence can be admitted. This week, Kim Kardashian and Richard Branson also joined Prejean and actor Martin Sheen in making the case that Cantu’s execution must be delayed.
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