Ellen Snyder
I often pride myself in knowing particular things about the law. In doing this blog of course I learn new things. Each case is specific and teach different things. Sometimes I may learn, as I recently have, that a state has abolished the death penalty, or maybe they seem close to doing so. Sometimes I may learn that a court has overturned a conviction that I was unaware of prior to researching deeper into a case. But, if someone would have asked me if there was a Statue of Limitations on murder I would have answered with a resounding no. I would have been wrong, although admittedly just barely. New Mexico is apparently the only state in which a statue of limitations exists on murder. And, it seems that until the early 2000's it applied to all degrees of murder. It was then that it was changed but only regarding first degree murder. What this meant was that any murder that was “solved” past the six year statue of limitations could only be tried in a court under the first...