NM House Passes Death Penalty Repeal

From the NM House Democratic Leadership:
A bill to abolish the death penalty in New Mexico and replace it with a sentence of life without parole passed the House of Representatives today on a floor vote of 41 to 28. Six Republicans supported the legislation. Similar legislation was passed by the NM House in 2005 and defeated in the Senate Judiciary Committee by one vote.

Rep. Chasey has proposed three pieces of legislation that work together as a package to support the victims of crime. HB 190 and HB 966 propose that the death penalty be replaced with life without parole and that a portion of the funds saved by the state, which is estimated to be as much as $3 to $4 million dollars a year, be used to expand services for murder victim family members. HB 193 protects the employment of all crime victims when they must take unpaid leave from their jobs to attend court hearings.

Rep. Gail Chasey (D-Albuquerque) has sponsored similar legislation since 1999. During Rep. Chasey’s presentation on the bill, she said that the death penalty discriminates against people of color and those who live in rural areas or are poor. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 53% of men and women on death row are African American or Hispanic. The Hispanic population on death row nationally is growing at the fastest rate when compared to other ethnic/racial groups.

Rep. Chasey also said that the death penalty was not a deterrent to murder. She quoted crime statistics that indicated that the murder rates in the southern part of the country where higher than all other regions. In 2006, 83% of all executions in the country were carried out in the south.

Rep. Chasey emphasized that New Mexico spends millions of dollars a year on the capital punishment system even though we have had only one execution since 1960. There are currently two men on death row in New Mexico and about 20 capital murder cases making there way through the court system.

Rep. Antonio Maestas (D-Albuquerque) spoke in support of repeal of the death penalty as a former prosecutor. He explained that resources are diverted away from prosecuting violent crimes, such as rape and assault, when a death penalty case takes precedence in a district attorney’s office. He suggested that the state needs to scrutinize all of its expenditures very carefully when we live in a world of scarce resources. “It astounds me that the state will spend millions of dollars every year on the death penalty when we’ve had one execution in 47 years. If this money was being spent on any other program with the same result, we would be laughed out of town,” he said. “Imagine if we allocated $50 million dollars to an economic development program and they reported back to us after a year that they had created one small business.”

Editor's Notes:

Report from Floor Debate: Local blogger Heath Hausaman was up at the Legislature at the floor session during the debate on this bill, and provides a running report how that went.

Contact Gov. Richardson and NM Senators: Although Gov. Bill Richardson has supported the death penalty in years past, there's a chance he may change his mind this year, especially if he hears from numerous voters who support death penalty repeal. According to an Albuquerque Journal article:

Richardson, a candidate for the Democratic nomination for president in 2008, has refused to answer questions this year about his position on death penalty legislation. He said he is focused on the items on his legislative agenda. Chasey said the governor continued to have "very cordial conversations" with death penalty opponents. "I think he's giving it some thought," she said.

Click to FAIR Blogcontact Gov. Richarson or contact your State Senator on this issue.