Not all New Mexico Murder Victims' Families seek the death penalty...

Most criticism of the death penalty focuses on how it affects the person on death row. Our concern is how the death penalty affects the rest of us in society.

Our opposition is rooted in our direct experience of loss and our refusal to respond to that loss with a quest for more killing.

MVFR National Website

I remember the day Carlos was killed; the violence of it shook  every cell of my body. If I had taken up that anger and hate, I’d have never moved forward. The anger should be put into a different energy for the person you love—to give their life some meaning. Anger and hate—the death penalty—is not what I want surrounding Carlos as the end of his story.    - Andrea Vigil's husband was murdered in Santa Fe.

People who commit acts of violence deserve to be held accountable, and the rest of us deserve to be protected from them. Surely, we can we do that, though, without acting just like them and becoming killers ourselves.     - Michelle Giger, Albuquerque.  Michelle's father was murdered in Santa Rosa.

My brother was mugged for the cash in his pocket. Killing those we condemn does not make a safer world. By cranking the wheel of the cycle of violence we amplify it; we infect us all.  - Merida Blanco.  Merida’s brother was murdered.

The horror of murder isn’t healed by another murder. Terror can’t end terror... . What we want can come from the power of reconciliation, not from the force of retaliation. What we want is peace.  - Connie Fisher.  Connie’s brother was killed in the attack on the World Trade Center.

Losing a loved one created a whole range of emotions for us. Anger for such a violent act was inescapable, but we began to realize that focusing on revenge only arrested our healing process. - Maiya and Patrick Tyrrell.  Maiya’s brother was murdered.