New Mexico advocates renew push for juvenile justice bill

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Advocates are renewing their push for legislation that would abolish life without parole for juveniles sentenced as adults in New Mexico. The proposed “Second Chance” bill would make juveniles sentenced as adults eligible for parole after serving 15 years in prison. Denali Wilson is an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and represents Michael Brown, who was sentenced as a violent youthful offender when he was 16 for the stabbing death of his grandparents. Wilson estimates that Brown is one of 75 people in New Mexico serving long adult prison sentences for crimes they committed as children.