Like the dark and ominous clouds that appear over our mountains presaging either a winter storm or a summer monsoon, two issues in our judicial system threaten the safety of our citizens throughout New Mexico.
One is the early release of convicted criminals from our prisons and the other is pre-trial release of those accused of crimes, often without bail requirements.
Unfortunately, some of those released early from prison re-enter society and commit violent crimes, sometimes almost immediately.
Those who are released from jails prior to trial are often people with criminal histories. Even if they stay out of trouble awaiting trial, they should be considered a potential threat to society.
Two instances of problems that arise from the state’s release policies can be seen right here at home.
Española and Rio Arriba County residents are scared, and Mayor John Ramon Vigil has raised their concerns with a letter to First Judicial District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies.
A story about the controversial practices of the judiciary and the fears in the community that follow these judicial actions appears on A-1 of today’s Rio Grande SUN.
Mayor Vigil’s letter appears on A-7.
Reporter Kevin Deutsch outlines in today’s SUN in detail the controversy over early release from prison and pre-trial release of those accused of violent crimes.
He cites as local examples of the system’s failings the case of Ricky Martinez Jr., an ex-convict accused of murdering Cypress Garcia at Blake’s Lotaburger in Española Aug. 16, and the pre-trial release without bail of Jerrid Maestas, the man accused of murdering a father of four in front of his Hernandez home Oct. 17.
Martinez Jr. was released early from prison despite a lengthy rap sheet going as far back as his teenage years.
Maestas, who lived next door to the man he allegedly murdered, was initially released without bail prior to trial and placed on house arrest.
Following a hearing to assess Maestas’ dangerousness, the judge in the case reversed course and ordered Maestas jailed.
Both Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and the state legislature need to face these problems head on and demand new laws that keep prisoners in jail and prevent potentially dangerous people charged with crimes from immediately re-entering society, bail free, during the pre-trial phase of their cases.
Bills seeking to change the pretrial release dilemma both died in the legislature during the 2022 session. Those bills need to be reintroduced and passed.
Additionally, the governor and legislature need to resolve the problems with the state’s early release program. Criminals are caught, arrested, convicted and sent to jails or prisons. Keep them there.
Here is Deutsch’s description of the failed attempt to change the law on pre-trial release:
“The New Mexico state legislature considered changes to the current pretrial detention law during its 2022 session.
The reform legislation, House Bill 5 and Senate Bill 189, would have imposed new pretrial release conditions and rolled back voter-approved bail reforms, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
Both bills died in session.
The legislation would have flipped the burden of proof in pretrial detention decisions, making defendants accused of certain crimes prove they are not a danger to others before they’re released.
Advocates for the current bail law said the reform bills would have kept innocent people sitting in jail, despite the constitutional requirement that people be treated as innocent until proven guilty.”
The legislation that died last year would have shifted the burden of proof to those charged with crimes to show they are not a threat to society.
As it stands now, prosecutors shoulder the responsibility to prove these people do, in fact, pose a danger to society.
Demanding reform of these two practices, pre-trial release and early release, is at the top of our editorial agenda at the Rio Grande SUN in 2023.
We will thoroughly report on instances of crime that reflect on problems associated with each practice, and we will continue to editorialize for much-needed reform.
Let’s face it.
Our lives depend on it.