RepealTheRepeal

RepealTheRepeal was a New Mexico nonprofit, non-partisan advocacy organization formed to oppose the state's 2009 abolition of capital punishment. Its campaign followed the enactment of legislation that replaced the death penalty for qualifying future crimes with life imprisonment and life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The organization advocated restoring capital punishment for what it described as the most heinous crimes. The campaign was associated with Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, who promoted reinstatement after Governor Bill Richardson signed the abolition legislation on March 18, 2009. RepealTheRepeal used several forms of political and public persuasion. It established a public-facing website, distributed a film supporting restoration of the death penalty, challenged arguments advanced by abolition opponents, and sought to build support for legislative and electoral action. Its stated objectives included countering what it characterized as misinformation by opponents of capital punishment, educating New Mexico residents about the repeal and the circumstances of serious crimes, collecting petitions intended to give voters an opportunity to reverse the repeal through the ballot process, and encouraging voters to support candidates for legislative and statewide office who favored reinstatement. The campaign therefore operated as an issue-advocacy effort rather than as a commercial product brand. The political context was contested. A 2011 Public Opinion Strategies survey cited in the relevant account reported that 67 percent of New Mexico voters supported capital punishment for the most heinous murders. Nevertheless, legislative efforts to restore the penalty did not succeed. In March 2011, a statutory reinstatement proposal and a proposed constitutional amendment were both rejected by a New Mexico House committee. In 2016, Governor Susana Martinez announced another attempt for the 2017 legislative session. The New Mexico House approved a narrower bill in October 2016 by a 36–30 vote. The proposal applied only to the murder of a child, the murder of an on-duty police officer, or the murder of a prison employee by an inmate, but it subsequently died in the Democratic-controlled Senate. RepealTheRepeal is consequently best understood as a historical state-level advocacy campaign whose objective was not achieved. The available reference material does not establish a continuing organization, a later successful petition, a restored death penalty, or a current operating structure. New Mexico's abolition remained in effect for crimes committed on or after July 1, 2009.

RepealTheRepeal emerged in New Mexico after the state legislature abolished capital punishment in 2009. House Bill 2085 was signed by Governor Bill Richardson on March 18, 2009, and took effect on July 1. For crimes committed on or after that date, the death penalty was replaced by life imprisonment, including life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the most serious cases. The change made New Mexico the fifteenth U.S. state to abolish capital punishment. Because the law was not retroactive, it did not automatically eliminate every pre-existing death sentence. The repeal generated organized opposition from supporters of capital punishment. RepealTheRepeal was described as a nonprofit, non-partisan organization seeking to restore the death penalty for the most heinous crimes. Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White was a prominent advocate associated with the effort. The campaign's stated program combined public communications, petitioning, electoral activity, and legislative pressure. It sought to rebut arguments from opponents of capital punishment, provide information about the repeal and serious crimes, pursue a petition drive intended to give voters a role in reversing the repeal, and support candidates who would favor reinstatement. The organization also used media: the available account says it opened a website and distributed a film supporting restoration. The campaign's approach reflected the political distinction it drew between capital punishment for exceptionally severe murders and use of the penalty for lesser offenses. In an interview cited by the source material, White said he opposed the death penalty for crimes other than murder. Efforts to reverse the 2009 policy encountered institutional resistance. In March 2011, a House committee rejected both a statutory proposal and a proposed constitutional amendment concerning reinstatement. A 2011 Public Opinion Strategies survey cited in the account found that 67 percent of New Mexico voters supported capital punishment for the most heinous murders, but the reported public-opinion figure did not produce a successful restoration measure. The issue returned during Governor Susana Martinez's administration. On August 17, 2016, Martinez announced that she would introduce reinstatement legislation in the 2017 session. The House approved a narrowly drafted proposal on October 14, 2016, by a vote of 36–30. It would have authorized the death penalty for three categories of murder: killing a child, killing an on-duty police officer, and killing a prison employee by an inmate. The bill died in the Democratic-controlled Senate. The broader legal context also changed after repeal. In June 2019, the New Mexico Supreme Court overturned the death sentences of Robert Ray Fry and Timothy Allen, two prisoners whose crimes predated the effective date of abolition, holding in a divided decision that the sentences were disproportionate. This effectively emptied the state's death row unless a future case involving a pre-July 2009 homicide produced a new death sentence. The available sources do not document a later revival of RepealTheRepeal, a successful ballot initiative, or the organization's current status. It is therefore treated as a former campaign organization whose principal objective was unsuccessful.

• 2019

  Remaining pre-repeal death sentences overturned

  [1]Capital punishment in New Mexicoen.wikipedia.org

  The New Mexico Supreme Court overturned the death sentences of Robert Ray Fry and Timothy Allen, effectively closing the state's death row under the circumstances described by the source.

• 2016

  Limited reinstatement bill passes the House

  [1]Capital punishment in New Mexicoen.wikipedia.org

  The House approved a narrowly defined death-penalty proposal by a 36–30 vote, but the Senate did not pass it.

• 2011

  Legislative reinstatement efforts fail

  [1]Capital punishment in New Mexicoen.wikipedia.org

  A House committee rejected both a statutory restoration bill and a proposed constitutional amendment.

• 2009

  New Mexico abolishes capital punishment

  [1]Capital punishment in New Mexicoen.wikipedia.org

  House Bill 2085 was signed on March 18 and took effect July 1, replacing the death penalty for qualifying future crimes with life-imprisonment penalties.

A non-partisan, pro-capital-punishment advocacy campaign focused on reinstating the death penalty in New Mexico for the most heinous murders.

• Advocacy media

  Pro-reinstatement campaign film

  RepealTheRepeal distributed a film supporting restoration of capital punishment in New Mexico. The available source identifies the film as part of the organization's communications strategy but does not provide its title, production date, distributor, or audience figures.

• Advocacy materials

  Public education and petition materials

  The campaign planned educational communications and a petition drive designed to build public support and potentially give voters an opportunity to reverse the 2009 repeal. Specific petition totals, publication titles, and filing results are not established in the available material.

• Repeal the repeal of New Mexico's death-penalty abolition

  New Mexico, United States

  The organization's central campaign sought to restore capital punishment for the most heinous crimes through public education, media, petitions, legislative advocacy, and electoral support for sympathetic candidates.

  Outcome. The repeal was not reversed. Reinstatement proposals failed in 2011, and a narrower bill approved by the House in 2016 died in the Senate.

  Source

• 2011

  Pursue ballot and legislative routes to reinstatementOther

  Background

  The organization identified both voter action and legislative elections as routes to restoring capital punishment.

  Action taken

  It promoted a petition drive and urged support for candidates who favored reinstatement.

  Aftermath

  The 2011 statutory and constitutional proposals were rejected by a House committee.

  Source

• 2009

  Adopt a multi-pronged restoration strategyStrategy

  Background

  New Mexico had abolished capital punishment, and opponents sought a way to rebuild political support for the policy.

  Action taken

  RepealTheRepeal combined public education, a pro-reinstatement film, petition activity, and candidate advocacy.

  Aftermath

  The campaign generated continuing debate but did not secure repeal of the abolition law.

  Source

1. 1Capital punishment in New Mexicoen.wikipedia.org