Courage in the Roundhouse

Maggie says:
The death penalty is just two votes away from being repealed in the State of New Mexico. The bill (HB 576) passed through the House and just cleared the Senate Rules Committee. Next up is a vote by the Senate Judiciary Committee and finally the full Senate.

For me, this issue is as emotional as it gets. I lived in Boston when Massachusetts was considering reinstating the death penalty after the horrific killing of Jeffrey Curley, a little boy who was raped and murdered by two men who were members of the North American Man Boy Love Association (remember that name and its acronym, NAMBLA - you'd be surprised how often you run across them in the news, and it's never for a good reason).

Those hearings were the most heart-wrenching proceedings I've ever seen in politics. There was an unspeakable crime committed and in response, a genuine organizing movement to make policy reflect what people's hearts were feeling. And so wars of words and tears were waged at the MA State House to allow the state to murder the murderers. The Curley group would ask how dare the death penalty opponents be so unfeeling, so soft on crime, to deny them the vindication they sought in the name of a murdered 8-year old. But the opponents remained steadfast, rightly pointing out that the killing of this boy is exactly why the dealth penalty is used so wrongly. If one event makes people want to change policy in order to exact a certain punishment, doesn't that show us that the death penalty is inherently unfair, inherently subjective, and entirely too emotional to be law?

Massachusetts never reinstated the dealth penalty, but it was surprising how close it came. And here in New Mexico we'll see what happens next. So far our half-asleep media has only focused on those protesting this bill and speaking out in favor of the death penalty. It will be interesting to see how the death penalty opponents and backers of this bill will be portrayed. New Mexico barely uses its death sentence as it is (something like one person in twenty years, I think). This will probably give us more of a reasoned debate than those that are in reaction to something specific, as it was in Massachusetts.

I think the tide is turning in the anti-death penalty movement. Illinois is leading the way on this, but change is happening at the ground-level, where it's always most effective. I hope the local media steps up to honestly cover this issue. HB 576 is a bill to follow, to care about, to emotionally tune into. It's a time for people to reflect. Two more votes to go...