New Mexico Legislature Repeals Death Penalty

The bill is now in the hands of Governor Richardson to sign or not sign.

New Mexico would be the second state to repeal the death penalty after it was reinstated in 1976. New Jersey was the first.

Las Cruces Sun: New Mexico Legislature repeals death penalty

... locking up murderers for life could imperil corrections officers, they argued.

"There's no incentive for not killing a guard every time you get a chance," said Sen. Rod Adair, a Roswell Republican.