New Mexico Supreme Court to consider if inmates should be released from prison during conviction appeal process
HOBBS, N.M. (KRQE) – Should a person be able to get out of prison if they are appealing their conviction? The New Mexico Supreme Court has agreed to hear that argument sparked by a Hobbs mother who was convicted of throwing her newborn in a dumpster in 2022.
Alexis Avila was convicted of child abuse and attempted murder last April and was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Avila’s lawyer immediately appealed the verdict, and a district court judge ruled that she would remain behind bars during the appeal process. The appeals court eventually ruled that Avila should be released. Those judges suggested the convicted felon’s appeal raised substantial questions of law that were likely to result in a reversal or a new trial, but didn’t explain its reasoning.
Story continues below
Trending: New Mexico adopts 180-day school calendar after public feedback
News: Albuquerque mom pleads guilty to using her kids to transport fentanyl to Texas
Traffic: BCSO cracking down on aggressive, speedy drivers in the metro
The appeals court judges based their decision to let Avila out on the case of daycare owners Mary and Sandi Taylor, who left two 1-year-old girls in a hot car for three hours outside of their Portales home daycare in 2017.
One child died, and another suffered permanent brain damage. The Taylors were convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison. The two are appealing their sentence and conviction, and they’ve been out of prison waiting for a ruling since September 2020.
Van Snow, the New Mexico Department of Justice’s deputy solicitor general of criminal appeals, hopes the Supreme Court rules to put Avila back behind bars. Currently, Avila remains out of jail on house arrest. There is no timetable for when the Supreme Court might rule on this issue.
