Santa Fe, N.M., Mar 20, 2009 / 01:17 am
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson on Wednesday signed legislation repealing New Mexico’s death penalty.
The move makes New Mexico the second state to ban executions since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, the Associated Press says.
Richardson, a former supporter of the death penalty, called signing the bill the “most difficult decision” of his political life. However, he said, “the potential for ... execution of an innocent person stands as anathema to our very sensibilities as human beings.”
The governor said he made the decision after visiting the state penitentiary, observing the death chamber and also the maximum security unit which could house those sentenced to life without parole.