Roundhouse in Santa Fe. Post file photo

By Daniel J. Chacón
The Santa Fe New Mexican

The state of New Mexico has garnered attention for its Opportunity Scholarship, which covers full tuition and fees for eligible students pursuing higher education.

The state may be now known for a new type of scholarship, or at least that’s the term floating around the Roundhouse.

According to some Republicans, Democrats in the Legislature are trying to reward juvenile delinquents with a — get ready for this — “homicide scholarship.”

Moments before the House passed a juvenile justice bill Saturday that includes a monthly monetary stipend for formerly incarcerated youth who are trying to turn their lives around, Rep. Rod Montoya, R-Farmington, coined the phrase, which other Republicans continue to repeat.

Montoya stood by the phrase Tuesday.

House Bill 255 is “a perfect example of how progressives think about crime, that the individual doesn’t need to be held responsible for their actions,” Montoya said. “They need to be coddled, that they’re somehow a victim themselves, and we need to make sure that they have an opportunity, and we need to do everything we can to rehabilitate them even when it means we do more for them than the victims.”

The bill states an eligible recipient of the monetary stipend under a three-year pilot project must be a New Mexican who is a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident under the age of 26 “who is a former foster child, was adjudicated and incarcerated pursuant to the Delinquency Act or who participated in and aged out of the fostering connections program as provided in the Fostering Connections Act.”

“Frankly, most of us had missed that portion of it,” Montoya said. “Then Rep. [Jonathan Henry, R-Artesia] goes, ‘Does this really mean what it says?’ And then everybody kind of perked up like, ‘Wait a minute.’ “

Democrats defend stipends 

Camille Ward, a spokesperson for the House Democratic caucus, said the bill, which passed largely along party lines, takes a data-driven approach to addressing juvenile justice, increasing accountability for serious crime and providing services and resources to support and rehabilitate children.

“New Mexicans deserve solutions, not slogans,” she said in a statement.

While youth convicted of first-degree murder would not meet eligibility requirements, according to Ward, she didn’t rule out the possibility a youth convicted of second-degree murder or manslaughter might qualify.

“The Higher Education Department will develop eligibility criteria and an application process designed to target those young people who have meaningfully engaged in the rehabilitation process and need this support to pursue education or employment as integrated members of our communities,” she said.

“Further,” Ward added, “it is unlikely that any youth adjudicated for a serious violent crime would meet the current eligibility requirements outlined in the bill because of the length of their sentences and the minimum age requirement.”

The phrase has already become a talking point among Republicans who are portraying Democrats as soft on crime.

“We now have what we’re calling the ‘homicide scholarship,’ ” Rep. Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, said during a news conference Monday.

“We’re actually rewarding delinquent offenders, violent delinquent offenders, by giving them $2,000 a month for utilities and housing and free school,” Reeb said. “It’s ridiculous. I mean, we are encouraging, actually, people to be delinquent offenders and serious violent offenders.”

Lorilynn Violanta, co-executive director of NMCAN, a youth leadership and advocacy organization, said calling the monetary stipend in HB 255 “a scholarship for those who cause great harm like homicide is a pretty big overexaggeration.”

“They’re talking about lifting up these talking points about murderers, but the reality is many of the young people who are experiencing youth detention are in there for less serious offenses,” Violanta said. “How do we actually understand that and recognize that communities need to be properly resourced first in order for children to meaningfully thrive?”

Rehabilitation vs. accountability

To qualify for the stipend of up to $2,000 a month, a participant must be enrolled in a postsecondary educational program, participating in an apprenticeship or workforce development program recognized by the state Workforce Solutions Department or participating in a program or designed to promote employment or remove barriers to employment, according to the bill.

Ward said helping young people who are aging out of foster care or formerly incarcerated find their footing and become productive members of society makes everyone safer.

“This is about providing continuity of care for the most at-risk young people in New Mexico, who may not have stable families or any other support systems,” she said.

Montoya, however, said the bill prioritizes rehabilitation over accountability for violent offenders.

Asked whether youthful offenders deserve a second chance, Montoya said they do.

“But why do they deserve more chances than the ones who are doing right and don’t get into criminal activity?” he asked. “That’s going way, way, way too far to offer them something we don’t offer everybody else.”

Montoya said the bill rewards bad behavior.

“We have such a crime problem in New Mexico, and in my mind, this bill is a perfect example of why,” he said.