Gov. Susana Martinez ran on a platform of fiscal conservatism and a respect for life, yet soon after taking office she announced plans to reintroduce the death penalty in New Mexico. This is unacceptable.

The idea of reinstating the horrid practice of capital punishment, which New Mexico rightly abolished in 2009, is bad enough. But Gov. Martinez is preparing to reinstate this immoral, costly process at the expense of schools, with her proposed 2011 budget calling for cuts in education spending -- meaning the state will be spending taxpayer money on killing, instead of on colleges and universities.

Studies have shown that it costs much more to put a prisoner to death than to keep someone locked behind bars for life. Join me in urging Gov. Martinez and New Mexico lawmakers to stand up for our children and reject calls to reinstate the death penalty.

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