New Mexico prison guards caution against tougher sentences

SANTA FE (AP) – New Mexico corrections officers and their union leaders are concerned that a slate of legislative proposals for tougher criminal sentencing could aggravate safety problems at understaffed state prisons.
Connie Derr speaks for a public employees’ union overseeing about 9,000 state corrections workers. She said Wednesday that more funding will be needed to recruit and pay for corrections officers if the Legislature approves tougher sentencing provisions backed by Republ