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By ABC-7 Reporter Veronique Masterson
LAS CRUCES — A new billfocusing on how juveniles are sentenced in the state of New Mexico is creating a stir.
Currently,any teenager between the ages of14and18 year old guilty of first degree murder is automatically sentenced as an adult. They are given adult sanctions and the penalties range from probation to life in prison.Under the new bill, there would be an option to sentence the offender as a juvenile.
District Attorney Susana Martinez is horrified at the proposed bill. She said therecent trial involving a juvenile convicted of murder is that of David Garcia in 2005.He was sentenced to 28 years in prison for killing Ashlie Wax in front of her home. He said he murdered here because she broke up with him.
According to Martinez, had the bill been in effect at the time of his sentencing, he would have only spent two-and-a-half years in a juvenile facility and would have been released at age 21.
“If you have the ability for murder, then you should be treated as an adult would be treatedfor committing that heinous crime,” said Martinez. “We should not have control of that person only until they’re 21.”
The bill has passed the Senate.Senator Mary Jane Garcia, a proponent of domestic violence victim’s rights, toldABC-7she voted for the bill because the judge should be able to choose the way the offender is sentenced.
