TOP OF MIND: Should voter information, which has always been available to the political parties, be allowed to be published online?

Top of Mind is a weekly question about an issue affecting New Mexicans.

LAST WEEK’S QUESTION

Should New Mexico reinstate the death penalty for convicted murderers? If so, under what circumstances?

“The death penalty should be reinstated in New Mexico. It never should have been abolished. Look no further than the recent brutal murders of three police officers in New Mexico and many other heinous crimes warranting the penalty. It must be imposed only with a preponderance of evidence of guilt.”

— Dave Coulie Albuquerque

“New Mexico should never bring back the death penalty. As an innocent man who languished on death row for nearly two decades, I know how easy it is to convict and sentence the innocent to death. I know the cruelty of the system and the suffering it inflicts on too many people.”

— Juan Melendez Albuquerque

“The death penalty, when applied equability and fairly, is a determent to crime. What we see now is proof. Go easy on crime and it increases. Capital crimes should be specific with a review board to determine fairness. The punishment is then exacted to save the taxpayer years of appeals.”

— Gary Hays Bernalillo

“It’s ironic your death penalty question appeared in the Easter Sunday edition. The death penalty is what Jesus suffered at the hands of the state. Let’s not be like Rome. Abolish the death penalty. Jesus would like that.”

— Rev. Dan Webster Albuquerque

“Death penalty should have never been off the table. Just tweak the law so the convicted aren’t on death row for 30 years. Protect our community.”

— Robert Wayne Albuquerque

“No, New Mexico should not reinstate the death penalty. We evolved our standards of decency when we abolished it. The death penalty is inhumane. It does not have any deterrent effect. It impacts with racial and economic bias. And it is not reversible when an error is made.”

— Tova Indritz Albuquerque

“Yes, New Mexico should reinstate the death penalty for convicted murderers. Circumstances could be first- and second-degree murder with no significant mitigating factors. Have a definite process with hard, timely deadlines and foolproof execution methods. Judges must be accountable for public safety by not releasing dangerous criminals.”

— Mark Yarnelle Albuquerque

“New Mexico should not reinstate the death penalty. It’s costly and doesn’t make us safer. For the most heinous crimes, life without parole works just as well and doesn’t turn us all into murderers.”

— Barbara Mandel Las Cruces

“Absolutely. If you are convicted in the death of a law enforcement officer you must be held responsible. In the first three months of 2024, New Mexico lost Las Cruces police officer Jonah Hernandez and recently State Police Officer Justin Hare. New Mexico must start to hold criminals responsible.”

— Michael Davis Albuquerque

“The death penalty has always been a terrible idea, whether viewed from a moral, cultural or criminal justice perspective. That innocent people have already been executed should be the end of the discussion.”

— Marc Robert Placitas

“Yes, death is a deterrent, verified by inmates interviewed after the 1980 N.M. prison riot. Implement based on N.M. statute 30-2-1 for first-degree murder. Life sentence is not 30 years. Fix it.”

— Sembach Sikorsky Edgewood