There are few stories that get me as worked up as those of injustice. Now that Michael Astorga has been convicted of a second murder, will justice be delayed and or denied? Astorga was convicted of the murder of Candido Martinez.
Prosecutors believe that it was this murder that drove Astorga to murder Bernalillo County Deputy James McGrane during a traffic stop. Sentencing is expected sometime this summer, but even if he is given the death penalty it will likely be years before it is carried out if at all.
For too long there have been forces at work to remove any real punishment for murder. By overwhelming the court system with endless appeals in even clear cut cases that have no trial errors, the death penalty is pushed off for far too long.
The bible clearly teaches that if a man takes another man’s life, his life will be required by men. Michael Astorga has now been convicted of murdering two people. While I do not desire his death, it is the greatest of crimes that we do not respect the lives of Candido Martinez and James McGrane enough to carry out the justice demanded by the Word of God. While I believe that God extends grace and mercy to Michael Astorga, it is incumbent on the state of New Mexico to provide a speedy penalty for murder.