SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s Supreme Court has ruled that certain criminal defendants including some convicted of child abuse are entitled to release pending appeal.
The ruling Monday was prompted by deliberations over the incarceration of two women as they awaited an appeal on charges of reckless child abuse linked to deadly events in which two young children were left in a hot car outside a Portales day care center.
Convictions of reckless child abuse ultimately were upheld against defendants and day care center owners Mary and Sandi Taylor. The new ruling outlines the legal framework for courts in considering requests for release pending appeal, highlighting provisions of current state statute.