NM Gov. Martinez to pursue the death penalty next legislative session

Governor Susana Martinez will pursue the death penalty as part of her legislative agenda in January, said Mike Lonergan, a spokesperson with the governor’s office.

Martinez Wednesday ordered flags across the state to be lowered in honor of slain Hatch Police Officer Jose Chavez. Martinez says the senseless killing during a traffic stop Friday is a tragic reminder of the dangers law enforcement officers face every day.

“People need to ask themselves, if the man who ambushed and killed five police officers in Dallas had lived, would he deserve the ultimate penalty? How about the heartless violent criminals who killed Officer Jose Chavez in Hatch and left his children without their brave and selfless dad? Do they deserve the ultimate penalty? Absolutely,” Governor Martinez said, Because a society that fails to adequately protect and defend those who protect all of us is a society that will be undone and unsafe.”

Jesse Denver Hanes, of Columbus, Ohio, faces a first-degree murder charge in Chavez’s death. Authorities say Hanes also is a suspect in Ohio in the death of a 62-year-old man near Chillicothe.

The death penalty was abolished in New Mexico in 2009.

Wednesday, Elizabeth Martinez with the U.S. Attorney’s Office said if convicted, Hanes cannot get the death penalty. “The federal crimes against Hanes are not death penalty eligible,” she said, “The United States, therefore, cannot seek a capital sentence for Hanes if he is convicted on the charges against him”

Hatch Mayor and State Representative Andy Nunez is very vocal on the death penalty. He says the issue hits close to home, now more than ever, following the death of officer Jose Chavez. Nunez attended a hearing Wednesday in Albuquerque where lawmakers were discussing drafting a bill to reintroduce the death penalty in the next legislative session.

If presented, Nunez said he’d be in favor. “I’m for the death penalty because I just believe in that. You know, back in the old days we used to hang people. I’m an old timer, and if these guys know they’re going to do something, they’re going to shoot a policeman or kill a kid or something like that, they know they’re going to die if they get caught. I believe less of them will be doing it,” Nunez said.

The Las Cruces Catholic Diocese adamantly opposes the death penalty. “The Catholic Church believes it is morally wrong to take the life of another person no matter how egregious their acts are unless there is no other possible alternative,” David McNeill, Chancellor of the Las Cruces Catholic Diocese.

Funeral services for Chavez, who was 33 and a father of two, are set for Sunday at New Mexico State University’s Pan American Center. Chavez was a two-year veteran of the Hatch Police Department.