Ivan Cantu was convicted of murder in 2001 after he was charged with killing his cousin James Mosqueda and his cousin’s fiancee Amy Kitchen in the Dallas area while trying to acquire drugs—though Cantu has maintained his innocence for decades, telling media outlets like CNN he believes he was framed after Mosqueda and Kitchen were killed by a rival drug dealer.

The state’s case relied on claims of clothes found in Cantu’s apartment with blood matching the DNA of the victim and witness testimony from Cantu’s then-girlfriend, Amy Boettcher, and her brother, Jeff Boettcher, who both testified of having knowledge of the murders, according to CNN—and in 2005, one of Cantu’s trial attorneys signed an affidavit claiming Cantu privately admitted to the murder at the time, according to the Associated Press.

The case has since gained renewed public attention, in large part due to the “Cousins By Blood” podcast created in 2023 by private investigator Matt Duff, who has amassed evidence doubting the official story and arguing in a recent YouTube video “there is reasonable doubt in this case”—supporters have launched an effort to stave off Cantu’s death sentence, pointing out inconsistency in the testimony of Amy Boettcher, who has since died, arguing Cantu had inefficient defense counsel and arguing other evidence suggests Cantu was framed.

Last spring, those efforts gained momentum when a Texas judge delayed his execution date, then set for April, after Jeff Boettcher reportedly admitted in court documents that he lied when he testified that Cantu told him about the murders in advance and when he asked Boettcher to help clean up the crime scene.

But the victory was short-lived, and this week, Cantu’s options grew limited with his execution set for later Wednesday evening—the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles rejected his request to reduce his death penalty to a lower sentence and the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals rejected his call for a delayed execution “without reviewing the merits.”

Cantu has gained some influential followers and supporters: Multiple jurors from the original case have since publicly questioned the validity of the conviction, actor Martin Sheen and anti-death penalty advocate Sister Helen Prejean have advocated for a review of the case, and Kim Kardashian—who has previously advocated for defendants who say they were wrongfully convicted—is joining calls for Gov. Greg Abbott to issue a last-ditch reprieve of the execution for 30 days.

Forbes has contacted Abbott’s office for comment on whether Abbott might intervene but has not yet received a response.