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Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Slain Deputy's Parents Plead With Gov.
By T.J. Wilham
Journal Staff Writer
James and Rita McGrane are hoping their meeting with Gov. Bill Richardson will persuade him to veto a bill repealing the death penalty.
The parents of slain Bernalillo County Sheriff's Deputy James McGrane Jr. met with the governor in his office for 45 minutes Monday to discuss the repeal passed Friday by the Legislature.
Richardson has until 11:59 tonight to make a decision. He has made no indication what he will do.
"He was pleasant and polite and understood what we were saying," Rita McGrane said. "He gave us no idea at all which way he was going to go."
The McGranes are just two of about 100 people the governor has met with on both sides of the issue. According to officials in his office, the governor has heard from 9,413 constituents through meetings, phone calls and e-mails. Of those, 7,169 were for the repeal of the death penalty and 2,244 were against it.
Rita McGrane said she had left a voice mail on a phone number the Governor's Office set up for people to voice their opinions. His office called back Monday and asked McGrane and her husband to meet with the governor within 90 minutes. The governor had reserved extra time to meet with them.
A spokeswoman from the Governor's Office declined to comment on the meeting.
When the McGranes met with Richardson, they gave him a memorial T-shirt with their son's name on it.
"He said this weighs heavy on his mind," Rita McGrane said. "He said he would take everything into consideration and consider both sides."
Richardson's decision will come a few days before the third anniversary of McGrane's death.
Deputy McGrane was fatally shot during a traffic stop in Tijeras on March 22, 2006. Michael Paul Astorga is awaiting trial in that case, and prosecutors are pursuing the death penalty.
The McGranes have funded and raised money for special survival training for law enforcement officers.
The training is held every March, close to the anniversary of their son's death. The third annual training seminar will begin today at the Albuquerque Convention Center. The same T-shirt the McGranes gave the governor will be passed out to law enforcement officers at the seminar.
Last week, while they were debating a bill to repeal the death penalty, Rita McGrane wrote to members of the state Senate, saying capital punishment provides "a layer of protection" for police officers and prison guards.
She said she reiterated her argument with the governor.
"I told him if he really wanted to save lives, keep the death penalty," she said. "We did our best. It's now up to him."
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