Gov. Bill Richardson has until midnight to decide whether to sign a bill that would repeal the death penalty, and he says the vast majority of those who have contacted him want him to sign it.
Meanwhile, the Santa Fe Reporter gave a voice today to a person whose comments about the death penalty are interesting and loaded: accused cop killer Michael Astorga, who himself might face the death penalty if he’s convicted.
The man accused of shooting and killing Bernalillo County Deputy Sheriff James McGrane Jr. didn’t say much to reporter Dave Maass about his own case, but he did talk about the death penalty, which Richardson has said he deserves.
Richardson has long been a supporter of the death penalty but now says his stance is softening. Astorga, who is housed in the state penitentiary outside Santa Fe awaiting trial, told Maass that he believes Richardson is not having so much a change of heart as he is a “contradiction” of heart.
From the article:
“The death penalty, I believe, is for certain people,” Astorga says and then admits he often contradicts himself on the issue. “I think the majority of New Mexicans contradict themselves… I guess I believe no man on earth should be given that kind of power to take someone else’s life.”
But Astorga brings up the 2003 Las Cruces case of 5-month-old Brianna Lopez, who was molested and murdered by family members.
“I’m sensitive when it comes to certain things, like children being molested,” Astorga says. “That is also a Catch-22. Brianna didn’t have a chance, but who am I to say who’s to live and who’s to die.”
The article is fascinating. Read the whole thing by clicking here.
A prior version of this posting incorrectly stated that the repeal, if enacted, might save Astorga from the death penalty. The repeal bill would only apply to crimes committed after July 2009. Richardson could, however, commute Astorga’s sentence if he is convicted and gets the death penalty.