A New Mexico lawmaker whose son was murdered by a juvenile expressed outrage this week after her criminal justice bill was tanked in favor of what some on the right are calling a “homicide scholarship” program.
State Rep. Nicole Chavez of Albuquerque said Thursday she is “sickened” by the developments.
“New Mexico Democrats voted to hand offenders like my son’s killer $2,000 a month—some twisted reward for shattering my family,” Chavez said of the “homicide scholarship” moniker first dubbed by state Rep. Rod Montoya, R-Farmington, earlier this month.
That bill would provide a monthly stipend for certain former convicts under the age of 26 seeking educational opportunities or other ways to get on the proverbial straight-and-narrow, according to multiple reports.
Per the text of the bill, it would provide money for the Juvenile Community Connections Fund to be used toward programs providing services for adjudicated delinquents and youth, and establish a panel to determine the next steps for a convict released from a juvenile facility.
“I sponsored HB 134 to deliver justice and accountability, but they refused to come to the table,” Chavez said of her original bill.
Chavez’s bill, which had the support of Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, was effectively tanked by Democrats in the House – reportedly including some originally warm to it.
HB 134 sought to update 1970’s-era New Mexico laws outlining the criminal justice process for juveniles, including moving some violent crimes like first-degree murder for younger teen suspects to adult court.
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Lujan Grisham and a handful of Democratic prosecutors supported the bill, according to the Piñon Post, but four Democrats in the Consumer & Public Affairs Committee successfully tabled the bill, which has yet to see further movement as the session winds down.
“This is not progress—it is a knife in the heart of every parent who has buried a child,” Chavez said Thursday. “New Mexico Democrats have turned their backs on victims and their families, choosing instead to reward the very criminals who destroyed our lives.”
Instead, the purported “homicide scholarship” bill was given a reading and passed by the House earlier this month.
Montoya told the Santa Fe New Mexican the new bill, HB 255, is “a perfect example of how progressives think about crime, that the individual doesn’t need to be held responsible for their actions – [in that they] need to be coddled, that they’re somehow a victim themselves, and we need to make sure that they have an opportunity, and we need to do everything we can to rehabilitate them even when it means we do more for them than the victims.”
Lujan Grisham did not respond to requests for comment on the latter bill.
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The governor approved a criminal justice package earlier this month that reportedly targeted fentanyl trafficking in the border state and dealt with suspects deemed mentally unfit for trial and grand theft auto penalties.
However, she was also lambasted by Republicans for supporting what conservatives called one of the strictest pieces of gun control legislation last week. Meanwhile, another top House Republican called the “homicide scholarship” bill “another betrayal to New Mexicans.”
“Democrats have forced through legislation that gives juvenile murderers $2,000 monthly scholarships, funded by the sweat of hardworking taxpayers. This isn’t compassion—it’s a perverse reward for bloodshed, a signal to every thug that crime pays in this state,” said Rep. Stefani Lord of Sandia Park.
Rep. Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, added that “Homicide Scholarships should alarm every New Mexican who fears for their safety,” and that the signal sent by the bill is that “crime truly pays.”
“Instead of passing common-sense legislation [from Chavez] … they are playing political games at the expense of victims and taxpayers,” Reeb said, while Rep. John Block, R-Alamogordo, added that in the Land of Enchantment, “victims get ignored; thugs get pampered.”
Fox News Digital reached out for a response from Senate President Pro-Tem Mimi Stewart and House Speaker Javier Martinez, both Albuquerque Democrats.
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House Majority Leader Reena Szczepanski, D-Santa Fe, also did not respond by press time.
One Democrat, Rep. Andrea Romero of Santa Fe, spoke to the Albuquerque Journal about her opposition to Chavez’ bill, saying that “we’re talking about detaining and committing children.” An Albuquerque prosecutor also cited a 57% increase in juvenile crime in a one-year period through 2023.
Lujan Grisham told the paper that she will continue to urge lawmakers to “answer the call” on juvenile justice reform.
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