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State And Federal Info

New Mexico

Famous Cases

Santa Rosa prison riots: Ralph Garcia, a correctional officer, was killed during a prison riot in 1999. Thirteen men were charged in the murder, but eleven of those cases were resolved through plea deals. Robert Young and Reis Lopez were charged with capital murder, but the New Mexico Supreme Court suspended proceedings because the state has not provided sufficient funds for their defense. The cases continued when prosecutors stopped seeking the death penalty. Lopez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 29 years in prison. Young was convicted of felony murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Notable Exonerations

The Vagos Bikers case: Four men were arrested and charged in 1974 for the kidnapping, murder and rape of a University of New Mexico student, William Velten. They were released in 1975 after the real murderer confessed.

Milestones in Abolition/Reinstatement

In 1986, Governor Toney Anaya commuted the death sentences of all five men on New Mexico’s death row.

In 2009, New Mexico became the 15th state to abolish the death penalty. The bill applied only prospectively, leaving two men on death row. On June 28, 2019, the New Mexico Supreme Court vacated their death sentences and ordered that they be resentenced to life in prison.

New Mexico “Firsts”

New Mexico has excluded juveniles from execution since 1975, making it one of the first states to do so.

Other Interesting Facts

New Mexico was the last state to adopt a sentence of life without parole, in 2009.

View of the Sandia Mountains from Bernalillo.  Photo by Viki Elkey.
View of the Sandia Mountains from Bernalillo. Photo by Viki Elkey.

Resources

  • New Mexico Coalition to Repeal the Death Penalty
  • New Mexico Corrections Department
  • New Mexico District Attorneys Association
  • Public defender’s office
  • Victims’ services

New Mexico Execution Totals Since 1976

News & Developments


Crimes Punishable by Death

Dec 23, 2019

DPIC Analysis: Death Penalty Erosion Spreads Across the Western United States in 2019

In a year of declin­ing death-penal­ty usage across the United States, nowhere was the ero­sion of cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment as sus­tained and pro­nounced in 2019 as it was in the west­ern United States. Continuing a wave of momen­tum from 

DPIC Analysis: Death Penalty Erosion Spreads Across the Western United States in 2019

Arbitrariness

Jul 02, 2019

New Mexico Supreme Court Ruling Removes Final Prisoners from State’s Death Row

The New Mexico Supreme Court has cleared the state’s death row, vacat­ing the death sen­tences imposed on the state’s final two death-row pris­on­ers, and direct­ing that they be resen­tenced to life in prison. The rul­ings, issued by a …

New Mexico Supreme Court Ruling Removes Final Prisoners from State’s Death Row

United States Supreme Court

Nov 28, 2018

Two Cases Pit Native American Sovereignty Against U.S. Death Penalty

As fed­er­al pros­e­cu­tors dropped the death penal­ty against a Navajo man accused of killing a police offi­cer on Navajo land, the U.S. Supreme Court heard argu­ment in a sep­a­rate case on the sta­tus of a treaty estab­lish­ing the borders …

Two Cases Pit Native American Sovereignty Against U.S. Death Penalty

Sentencing Alternatives

Nov 01, 2018

LWOP Post-Repeal

Life Without Parole Laws in States That Recently Repealed the Death Penalty…

Arbitrariness

Apr 11, 2018

New Mexico Supreme Court Hears Argument on Whether State May Execute Last Two Men on Its Death Row

Nine years after New Mexico prospec­tive­ly abol­ished cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment, lawyers for the state’s two remaining…

New Mexico Supreme Court Hears Argument on Whether State May Execute Last Two Men on Its Death Row

Recent Legislative Activity

Mar 09, 2018

Attempts Both to Repeal and to Restore Death-Penalty Statutes Fail in Legislatures Across the Country

In Washington and Utah, bipar­ti­san or Republican-led efforts at death-penal­ty repeal fell short, a month after death-penal­ty pro­po­nents aban­doned efforts to rein­state cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment in New Mexico

Attempts Both to Repeal and to Restore Death-Penalty Statutes Fail in Legislatures Across the Country

Recent Legislative Activity

Feb 06, 2018

New Mexico Bill to Restore Death Penalty Dies in Committee

The lat­est effort by death-penal­ty pro­po­nents to rein­state the death penal­ty in New Mexico has died in a House com­mit­tee. House Bill 155

New Mexico Bill to Restore Death Penalty Dies in Committee

Deterrence

Jan 12, 2018

Experience Shows No ​“Parade of Horribles” Following Abolition of the Death Penalty

States that have recent­ly abol­ished the death penal­ty have not expe­ri­enced the ​“parade of hor­ri­bles” — includ­ing increased mur­der rates — pre­dict­ed by death-penal­ty pro­po­nents, accord­ing to death-penal­ty experts who par­tic­i­pat­ed in a pan­el discussion …

Experience Shows No “Parade of Horribles” Following Abolition of the Death Penalty

Costs

Jun 16, 2017

Former Governor Bill Richardson: Death Penalty Is Bad for Business, Out of Step With World’s Views

In a Washington Post op-ed, for­mer New Mexico Governor and United Nations Ambassador Bill Richardson (pic­tured) — who in 2009 signed a bill to abol­ish his state’s death penal­ty — urged that cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment be abol­ished in …

Former Governor Bill Richardson: Death Penalty Is Bad for Business, Out of Step With World's Views

Arbitrariness

Nov 19, 2014

EDITORIALS: Maryland Governor Should Commute Remaining Death Sentences

In a recent edi­to­r­i­al, the Washington Post urged Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley to com­mute the sen­tences of the four men remain­ing on the state’s death row, say­ing, ​“To car­ry out exe­cu­tions post-repeal would be both cr…

EDITORIALS: Maryland Governor Should Commute Remaining Death Sentences
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View Information by State

Additional Information


  • Death Penalty: No
  • Number of Executions Since 1976: 1
  • Number of Executions Before 1976 (may include federal and military executions): 73
  • Number of Innocent People Freed From Death Row: 4
  • Number of Clemencies Granted: 5
  • Date of Reinstatement (following Furman v. Georgia): July 1, 1979
  • Date of Abolition: March 18, 2009, though abolition was not retroactive. The last two death sentences in the state were vacated on June 28, 2019.
  • Capital: Santa Fe
  • Region: West
  • Population: 2,117,522*
  • Murder Rate (per 100,000 population): 8.63
  • Is Life Without Parole an Option?: Yes
  • Method of Execution: Injection
  • Clemency Process: Governor has sole authority to grant clemency
  • Governor: Michelle Lujan Grisham

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