Gang Leader Executed Via Lethal Injection

By: Rob Adams
Staff Writer
Published: Aug 19, 2021

Gang leader executed for raping and murdering two young girls 17 years ago.

Gang leader executed via lethal injection. Peter Anthony Cantu, a former gang leader, was executed in Texas for murdering two young girls. The Texas incident involving the two young girls happened 17 years ago.

On Tuesday, the 35-year-old was strapped to a gurney and administered a lethal injection at 6:09 p.m. CDT in the Huntsville prison death chamber. Cantu had no last words prior to his death. "Nothing he would have said to me would have made any difference," Adolfo Pena, who lost his daughter in the attack, stated after watching Cantu die.

"He did a horrendous crime to these two girls. He deserved to die and 17 years later, he died. Not soon enough. It's been a long time coming," Pena added.

As Cantu's execution date neared, he declined to speak with reporters. In recent years, he stayed clear of trouble and was classified among the best-behaving inmates on death row. "He has matured remarkably," his appeals lawyer, Robin Norris, stated. "He's a guy who fully accepts his responsibility."

"Nobody wants to hear that but it's the absolute truth," trial lawyer Robert Morrow, who remained in touch with Cantu over the years, said in a statement. The young girls were brutally gang raped by Cantu and five other gang members for more than an hour. They were kicked, had teeth knocked out and hair pulled out, their ribs were even broken. A red nylon belt was pulled so tightly around Ertman's neck the belt snapped. Shoe laces were used to strangle Pena.