At least four bills filed in the state legislature seek to begin the process of reversing the state’s misguided pretrial detention reforms.
In 2016, New Mexico voters overwhelmingly approved a change to the state constitution that essentially eliminated the state’s money-based bail system. As a result, most defendants are now released before trial without posting a bond.
That means potentially dangerous criminals, many with violent criminal histories, are being set free in society with few safeguards against their re-offending.
Rio Arriba County residents continue to suffer at the hands of such criminals. In just the last year, our communities have seen violence, thefts and drug trafficking crimes committed by people set free ahead of their trials — or after serving significantly less jail or prison time than their original sentences.
Defenders of the pretrial release system claim most defendants released by the courts, even those with violent criminal histories, do not commit new crimes.
The SUN rejects this argument, which places the public at the mercy of criminals and assumes they are going to behave while awaiting trial. In our view, it’s not worth the risk.
Currently, the burden of proving an arrestee’s dangerousness rests with prosecutors. At the SUN, we believe the burden of proof should fall on defendants when it comes to demonstrating they will not be a danger to society if released.
Among the reform bills being considered in the legislature, one appears to be gaining traction. Filed by state Sens. Linda Lopez (D-Albuquerque) and Meredith Dixon (D-Albuquerque), the bill would roll back key elements of the 2016 voter-approved reforms by creating a “rebuttable presumption” that a defendant is too dangerous to be released without bail in many cases
It’s the same kind of bill Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said she wants passed as part of her 2023 legislative agenda.
Lopez and Dixon’s bill, or one of the other proposed reform laws, must be passed by the legislature and signed into law by the governor. After years spent suffering the consequences of bail reform, law-abiding residents of Rio Arriba County—not the criminals who prey on them—deserve to have their voices heard.
We also hope the legislature will address the danger posed by leniency in our probation and parole systems, which allow convicted criminals to leave prison early and, in too many cases, threaten public safety.
Communities harmed by these policies are demanding to be heard. It’s time the legislature listened.