Death Penalty Repealed in New Mexico

by Matt Kelley · 2009-03-18 19:38:00 UTC
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New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson signed a law tonight repealing the state's death penalty, making his state the 15th in the United States without capital punishment. Calling it the hardest decision of his political career, Richardson said he made his choice because he didn't have confidence that the criminal justice system always gets it right.

“I do not have confidence in the criminal justice system as it currently operates to be the final arbiter when it comes to who lives and who dies for their crime,” Richardson said. “If the State is going to undertake this awesome responsibility, the system to impose this ultimate penalty must be perfect and can never be wrong.”

Richardson is a hero for taking a stand against this inhumane punishment, and I hope other states follow New Mexico's lead (we're watching you, Maryland). New Mexico is the second state in two years after New Jersey ended capital punishment last year.

More from CNN here.  Oh, and of course the twitters are going crazy.

Matt Kelley is the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project and a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow him on Twitter @mattjkelley.
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