The argument for and against New Mexico Senate Bill 123
At a news conference in Santa Fe on Wednesday, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman voiced his support of New Mexico Senate Bill 123. The bi-partisan bill deals with pre-trial detention and asks that people who commit crimes like first-degree murder or other violent felonies aren't released before trial.
“What I'm asking is to rip the band-aid off right now and recognize that what we need to do is not be pointing fingers at judges but fix the process. I'm begging the legislature to fix the process. A rebuttable presumption is something I certainly support," Bregman said.
Bregman said the bill needs to pass because repeatedly people charged with crimes are let out before their trial and are charged with additional crimes.
“It's important to note that following an examination of the 2845 defendants who were let out, despite our motion to detain them, one in five committed crimes,” Bregman said.
The data referenced comes from his office. Bregman says 49% of those who went on to re-offend were charged with violent crimes.
Jonathan Ibarra, a felony supervisor with the public defender's office in Albuquerque, cites other studies that combat the office’s statistics.
“So, these are statistics from two different studies by the state, by some of the same people who. So back in 2021, approximately 5% of those people go on to commit a new violent crime. The most recent study shows that of 15,000 people that they looked at who have been released, again, just under 5% of those are accused of committing a violent crime," Ibarra said.
The studies Ibarra cited are a UNM Study conducted in 2021 and a recent study done by Christopher Moore, both analyzed pre-trial detentions in Bernalillo County. Ibarra says the studies claim most of the people who are released before trial and are accused of re-offending catch a misdemeanor charge.
Ibarra said House Bill 123 is not a fair bill to keep violent offenders behind bars.
“You're really requiring people who are presumed innocent to prove their innocence, to let them out of jail,” Ibarra said.
KOAT asked Ibarra if there is a good compromise to try and fix the problem of people being released before trial and being charged with more crimes.
“Anytime you draw a line where some people are getting released, and some people are being let out. Someone who was let out is going to commit a crime. There's no getting around that. We're dealing with humans. We're dealing with people who are fallible," Ibarra said.
A similar bill went through the legislature last year but did not pass.
Senate Bill 123 has not been heard on the New Mexico Senate floor.