New Mexico moves to abolish the death penalty

The state of New Mexico has taken a step forward towards more civilized behavior -- true legal justice instead of revenge.

Last week, New Mexico's House or Representatives voted to abolish that state's death penalty and replace it with a sentence of life in prison without parole.

The legislation now goes to the New Mexico Senate.

Fingers crossed.

I've written much over the years about why the death penalty is wrong. For new readers, I will summarize below:

The death penalty is applied unevenly and unfairly, and minorities are victimized in the process. In a recent study by a committee of the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court, it was discovered that African-American defendants were almost four times more likely to receive the death penalty than were people of other ethnic origins who committed similar crimes. Similar studies in other states were consistent with this. Where is the justice here?

In addition to its biased application, the death penalty is demonstrably not a deterrent, and is irreversible, which is a problem given so many cases of death row inmates who have been exonerated after conviction, based on DNA or other evidence. (How many other innocent persons weren't lucky enough to be proven innocent prior to their executions? We know of at least a few.)

On a more philosophical note, Amnesty International describes the death penalty as "the ultimate, irreversible denial of human rights."

These are some of the reasons why most European nations have abolished the death penalty.

It has been more than a year since New Jersey abolished the death penalty, and prosecutors -- yes, prosecutors! -- in that state have found no problems with the new system.

So will New Mexico see the light?

I hope so.

Stay tuned.