News & Commentary

Overcrowding, inadequate access to soap, and substandard healthcare in detention facilities create the perfect storm for coronavirus spread.

Elisha Lucero had long suffered from persistent and intense migraine headaches, but it wasn’t until her car wreck she learned the true cause.

The death of Elisha Lucero at the hands of BCSO deputies in 2019 was both tragic and preventable. Lucero, 28, was killed on July 21, 2019 when Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) deputies shot her 21 times. BCSO deputies were responding to a 911 call from family members who were concerned about her mental health and safety.

This week I asked my wife not to go to Costco by herself for our weekly supply run. It had nothing to do with the fact that my spouse’s solo trips to Costco have a way of resulting in budget busting purchases of dubious necessity (“It was on sale!”), or the fact that Costco has turned into a post-apocalyptic thunderdome of toilet paper hoarders; I asked her to avoid going out shopping because in the current environment I am afraid someone will try to hurt her because of the way she looks. Because she is Asian.

“I was in fear for my life.”

Across the country, extremist lawmakers are passing unconstitutional abortion bans and restrictions that strip tens of millions of women of control over their own lives. As an avalanche of bans rips through the nation, New Mexico can’t afford to look the other way and pretend we aren’t on shaky ground.

We all want to live in safe communities. But recycling the same failed policies from years past this legislative session is not the solution. Here’s our vision for achieving public safety in New Mexico.

It was a parent’s worst nightmare.

Lisa Jaramillo was excited to take up a job in maintenance at the Western New Mexico Correctional Facility in January of 2017. Whatever joy her job provided her quickly vanished.