clemency
Former Gov. Martinez stayed stingy with pardons to the end
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Susana Martinez departed the governor’s office in December granting what appears to be among the fewest pardons in state history. Martinez granted just three pardons—a power that absolves people of guilt in crimes after they’ve paid their debt to society—during eight years in office, a minuscule number compared to her predecessors, Republican Gary Johnson and Democrat Bill Richardson. Those pardons all came in 2012, Martinez’ second year as governor, an earlier analysis through 2017 by SFR and New Mexico In Depth found. The news organizations wanted to see whether Martinez, a Republican, had a change of heart during the final year of her second term. Did she have a Billy the Kid moment, a la Richardson?