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U.S. | I'm a Death Row Pastor. They're Just Ordinary Folks

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In the early 1970s I was a North Carolinian, white boy from the South attending Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and working in East Harlem as part of a program. In my senior year, I visited men at the Bronx House of Detention. I had never been in a prison or jail, but people in East Harlem were dealing with these places and the police all the time. This experience truly turned my life around.

New Mexico: Darren White looking for ways to bring back the death penalty

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It is less than 24 hours after Gov. Bill Richardson announced he would sign the death penalty abolition bill. The death penalty has been replaced with life without the possibility of parole.

But already those who support capital punishment are looking for ways to bring it back. Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren white indicated today on his Twitter account.

"Repeal the Death Penalty Repeal: Researching constitutional initiative to overturn freshly signed legislation. Stay tuned!!!" White wrote.

It should be noted that the death penalty isn't completely dead yet. The 2 men who are on death row right now can still be executed, and Richardson said he will not commute their sentences.

Richardson called the decision to sign the bill "the most difficult decision of my political career." New Mexico became the 15th state in the United States to abolish the death penalty.

In announcing he would sign the bill, Richardson cited the fact that the criminal justice system is not perfect.

Source: New Mexico Independent, March 20, 2009
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In the early 1970s I was a North Carolinian, white boy from the South attending Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and working in East Harlem as part of a program. In my senior year, I visited men at the Bronx House of Detention. I had never been in a prison or jail, but people in East Harlem were dealing with these places and the police all the time. This experience truly turned my life around.
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