Opinion No. 21-3075
August 4, 1921
TO: Hon. Merritt C. Mechem, Governor of New Mexico, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Power of Governor to Reprieve for Indefinite Period.
OPINION
{*80} Referring to your inquiry concerning the legal right of the Governor to reprieve for an indefinite period a person confined in the State Penitentiary, convicted of first degree murder, I wish to advise:
The word "reprieve" is defined in most of the law dictionaries and in several cases as "a postponement of the execution of the sentence to a day certain." There is a distinction between reprieves and suspensions of sentences. Blackstone defines a reprieve to mean "a withdrawing of a sentence for an interval of time whereby the execution is suspended." (4 Com. 394).
The distinction between a reprieve and a suspension of sentence is that a reprieve postpones the execution of the sentence to a day certain, whereas a suspension is for an indefinite time.
Carnal vs. People,
1 Park. Cr. Repts, 262.
You will note, therefore, that legally a prisoner sentenced to death cannot be reprieved for an indefinite period.