USA - New Mexico. House panel rejects bill to reintroduce death penalty

House panel rejects death penalty bill. A proposal to reinstate the death penalty in New Mexico - a priority of Gov. Susana Martinez - failed on a narrow vote today. The House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee rejected the measure (HB 155) 3-2, blocking it from advancement. The vote to table the bill was along party lines, with Democrats opposed. New Mexico abolished the death penalty in 2009. House Bill 155 was just the latest proposal by Republican legislators in recent years to reinstate capital punishment for certain murders. House Bill 155 would have allowed the death penalty for adults who murder children, law enforcement officers or correctional employees. It was sponsored by Republican Reps. Monica Youngblood of Albuquerque and Greg Nibert of Roswell. Legislative aides calculated the bill would have cost up to $7.2 million in the first 3 years.