CANDIDATES FOR GOVERNOR ADDRESS STATE CRIME

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) --Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Richardson said
he wants tougher sentences on repeat juvenile offenders.

"The core of my philosophy is we must hold people responsible for their
actions," he said at a news conference Thursday at the Bernalillo County
Courthouse in Albuquerque.

Richardson proposed mandatory adult sentences for teenagers 14 and older who
commit the same crime more than once.

"The first time they get convicted, I'll be the first one to say we need to
do everything in our power to provide the right treatment to steer them in
the right direction. But do it again, and the punishment has to get more
severe," he said.

Currently, for some violent crimes, juveniles can be, but are not required
to be, tried in adult court.

Richardson also advocated the creation of more drug courts throughout the
state that would be aimed at getting treatment for nonviolent first-time
drug offenders.

The Democratic nominee also said he wants to build new crime laboratories in
southern New Mexico and improve the existing labs in Santa Fe and
Albuquerque. He said this would raise arrest and prosecution rates.

The other parts of his plan include improving communications between city,
state and county law enforcement agencies, and taking steps to recruit and
retain more police officers.

Republican candidate John Sanchez, who was campaigning in Alamogordo on
Thursday, said in a written statement that he wants to amend laws so people
who have been sentenced to life in prison are never eligible for parole. He
also said he would advocate life prison terms for people convicted of sexual
assault.

"When implemented, my sentencing reform initiatives will ensure that
dangerous felons spend more time where they belong -- behind bars," the
statement said. "It's time that we get serious about protecting families in
New Mexico by keeping violent criminals off our streets."

He said he will work to revise the state's Habitual Offender Law so that it
can be applied in repeat drunk-driving cases.

He also said he wants to expand the state's three-strikes law -- which
imposes life sentences on individuals who are convicted of three violent
felonies.

Patrick Killen, a spokesman for Sanchez's campaign, said the current
three-strikes law does not consider every violent felony in its tally.

He said Sanchez wants to add criminal sexual penetration of a minor and
second-degree rape to the list of crimes that are counted for the rule.

Green Party candidate David Bacon said the major thrust of his crime plan is
to de-emphasize the so-called "war on drugs."

"I am very against the war on drugs," he said in a telephone interview from
the campaign trail in Las Cruces. "The less criminalization that we do, the
better."

Bacon said he is also supports repealing the death penalty.

"It is just an institutionalized form of violence that the state does in all
of our names," he said.

Bacon said he wants communities to understand the real problems that face
them and figure out why crimes occur.

He said greater public involvement in law enforcement can make communities
safer places to live.