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New Mexico Governor Seeks To Reinstate Death Penalty

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez will push to reinstate the death penalty in response to the killing of a municipal police officer in the south of the state and other recent events. The Republican governor and former district attorney announced her plans Wednesday in a passionate appeal for justice in the wake of the shooting death of Hatch police officer Joseph Chavez. New Mexico repealed the death penalty in 2009 by replacing provisions for lethal injection with a sentence of life in prison. Martinez unsuccessfully backed legislation to reinstate the death penalty shortly after taking office in 2011. Martinez said Wednesday that "a society that fails to adequately protect and defend those who protect all of us is a society that will be undone and unsafe."