The Chronicle‘s efforts to win that elusive first Pulitzer via the Ruben Cantu story have stalled somewhat, but the local Hearst daily just keeps plugging along in its efforts to keep the story alive:
Sam Millsap Jr. knows that most people in his home state disagree with his fervent opposition to the death penalty, but the former Bexar County district attorney remains puzzled by a particular expression of sympathy he gets from many of his fellow Texans.
They frequently admonish him not to beat himself up over the execution of Ruben Cantu, a potentially innocent man Millsap helped send to the death chamber.
And why is Cantu potentially innocent? The story elaborates:
Ruben Cantu, a gang member convicted of a robbery-related murder when he was 18, was executed on Aug. 24, 1993. In 2005, a Chronicle investigation suggested that Cantu was possibly innocent.
Here is some background on the Ruben Cantu story that should make clear his “innocence” is hardly a decided question. It’s also useful when evaluating the Chronicle‘s death-penalty stories to keep in mind the Chronicle‘s fervent anti-death-penalty stance and the fact that editor Jeff Cohen’s wife is a noted anti-death-penalty activist.
