2021 New Mexico Statutes
Article 18 - Criminal Sentencing
Section 31-18-23 - Three violent felony convictions; mandatory life imprisonment; exception.

A. When a defendant is convicted of a third violent felony, and each violent felony conviction is part of a separate transaction or occurrence, and at least the third violent felony conviction is in New Mexico, the defendant shall, in addition to the sentence imposed for the third violent conviction, be punished by a sentence of life imprisonment. The life imprisonment sentence shall be subject to parole pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-21-10 NMSA 1978.
B. The sentence of life imprisonment shall be imposed after a sentencing hearing, separate from the trial or guilty plea proceeding resulting in the third violent felony conviction, pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-18-24 NMSA 1978.
C. For the purpose of this section, a violent felony conviction incurred by a defendant before the defendant reaches the age of eighteen shall not count as a violent felony conviction.
D. When a defendant has a felony conviction from another state, the felony conviction shall be considered a violent felony for the purposes of the Criminal Sentencing Act if that crime would be considered a violent felony in New Mexico.
E. As used in the Criminal Sentencing Act:
(1) "great bodily harm" means an injury to the person that creates a high probability of death or that causes serious disfigurement or that results in permanent loss or impairment of the function of any member or organ of the body; and
(2) "violent felony" means:
(a) murder in the first or second degree, as provided in Section 30-2-1 NMSA 1978;
(b) shooting at or from a motor vehicle resulting in great bodily harm, as provided in Subsection B of Section 30-3-8 NMSA 1978;
(c) kidnapping resulting in great bodily harm inflicted upon the victim by the victim's captor, as provided in Subsection B of Section 30-4-1 NMSA 1978;
(d) criminal sexual penetration, as provided in Subsection C or D or Paragraph (5) or (6) of Subsection E of Section 30-9-11 NMSA 1978; and
(e) robbery while armed with a deadly weapon resulting in great bodily harm as provided in Section 30-16-2 NMSA 1978 and Subsection A of Section 30-1-12 NMSA 1978.
History: 1978 Comp., § 31-18-23, enacted by Laws 1994, ch. 24, § 2; 1996, ch. 79, § 3; 2009, ch. 11, § 2.
The 2009 amendment, effective July 1, 2009, in Subparagraph A, deleted the qualification that a defendant be punished by a sentence of life imprisonment when the sentence for the third violent conviction does not result in death; and in Subparagraph (d) of Paragraph (2) of Subsection E, added the reference to Subsection D of Section 30-9-11 NMSA 1978.
The 1996 amendment, effective July 1, 1996, substituted "sentence" for "punishment" and "when" for "and" in the first sentence of Subsection A, substituted "(5) or (6)" for "(4) or (5)" in Subparagraph E(2)(d), and made a stylistic change in Subparagraph E(2)(e).
Applicability. — Laws 2009, ch. 11, § 6 provided that the provisions of this section apply to crimes committed on or after July 1, 2009.