Kim Kardashian was called out by a New York man who says she posted his picture by mistake on her Instagram Stories identifying him as a death row inmate Ivan Cantu, who he has the same first and last name as.
A New York man named Ivan A. Cantu, who works as a project manager, said in a Facebook post that he had been misidentified by the 43-year-old reality star to her platform of 364 million Instagram followers.
He Thought it Was a Prank
Ivan A. Cantu told TMZ Monday that his relatives informed him his picture was being used on her social media site. He noted that he was celebrating his 60th birthday, and thought he was being pranked.
Ivan A. Cantu told the site that he thought that a member of Kardashian’s staff posted the image by mistake.
As it is
Kardashian subsequently removed the post from her social media platform.
An opinion story from the Austin American-Statesman addressing the Cantu case was later posted on Kardashian’s feed.
Kardashian also shared with her followers a text message campaign aimed at Texas Governor Greg Abbott to delay an execution, which is currently slated for Wednesday, February 28.
She Has a Thing With Criminal Justice and Law
Kardashian has been passionate about criminal justice and the law, as for the past few years, she has been studying to become a lawyer, following in the footsteps of her late father Robert Kardashian, who was a member of O.J. Simpson’s legal defense team in his murder trial.
She was instrumental in the 2018 prison release of Alice Marie Johnson, following a pardon from then-President Donald Trump. Johnson had been sentenced to life in prison for a nonviolent drug offense as result of her 1996 conviction in a drug trafficking ring.
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About The Cantu’s Case
A Texas judge in April of 2023 stopped Cantu’s scheduled execution, amid Cantu’s long-standing statement of his innocence, and request for further review of claims he was convicted more than 20 years ago with false testimony and questionable evidence.
Ivan Cantu had been condemned for the fatal shooting of his cousin, James Mosqueda, 27, and his cousin´s girlfriend, Amy Kitchen, 22, during a November 2000 robbery at their north Dallas home. Cantu has long claimed he is innocent.
Cantu, 50, had been set for execution April 26, 2023. But state District Judge Benjamin Smith in Collin County, where Cantu was convicted, on April 20 withdrew the execution date, saying more review is needed of the inmate´s new claims.
‘Because Mr. Cantu´s case raises troubling questions that undermine the integrity of the conviction, the court´s decision to withdraw the execution date to permit further review was the appropriate next step,’ Gena Bunn, Cantu´s attorney, said in a statement on Friday.
