New Mexico Court Denies Mass Prisoner Release During Virus

The New Mexico Supreme Court on Monday denied a request to hasten the release of some inmates from prisons across the state to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.

The unanimous ruling affirmed that the administration of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D) is not “deliberately indifferent” to the health and safety of inmates, Chief Justice Judith Nakamura said following oral arguments. The justices considered a petition arguing that failing to reduce the density of prisoners during the coronavirus pandemic violates the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution because exposing them to the disease in unsafe conditions is cruel and unusual punishment.

The New Mexico Law Offices of the Public Defender, the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico asked the court to order Lujan Grisham and the state secretary of corrections to expedite the release of some inmates into community corrections or probation and parole programs.

New Mexico needs to remove a “critical mass” of inmates from state prisons to make it safer for the people who remain incarcerated there, said Kimberly Chavez Cook, the attorney representing the petitioners, adding it’s impossible to know how many people would have been released under the plan.

“We are trying to address a large, systemic issue,” she said.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D)

Photographer: Toya Sarno Jordan/Getty Images

The request targeted inmates serving sentences for violating probation or parole; those who are pregnant or at high risk of complications from Covid-19; people with a year or less remaining on their sentences; and nonviolent offenders. The petition asked the court for several other measures to limit the entry of new inmates and to otherwise expedite parole.

The case highlighted a “fundamental dispute about policy,” said Matthew Garcia, representing Lujan Grisham. Existing orders and directives already address reducing the risk of a Covid-19 outbreak in state prisons, he said.

The request of the petitioners would have violated the state’s constitution and encroached on the governor’s clemency powers, Garcia said. Additionally, granting the request would present logistical challenges, he said.

“If we release hundreds of inmates tomorrow, where are all of these people going to go?” Garcia asked.

The case is NM Law Offices of the Public Defender v. State of NM, N.M., No. S-1-SC-38252, oral arguments 5/4/20.