Parole revoked: A series of mishaps in ouster of parole chief

Last Friday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham attempted to inform Sheila Lewis that she was no longer chair of the parole board. It didn’t quite go as planned. For four days, Lewis was none the wiser. That’s because the governor’s office had sent the message to an old AOL email address — one Lewis estimates she […]

Parole revoked: A series of mishaps in ouster of parole chief

Last Friday, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham attempted to inform Sheila Lewis that she was no longer chair of the parole board.

It didn’t quite go as planned.

For four days, Lewis was none the wiser. That’s because the governor’s office had sent the message to an old AOL email address — one Lewis estimates she hasn’t used in over a decade.

This story originally appeared at Searchlight New Mexico and is republished with permisison.

Lewis finally got the message Tuesday morning— and said she wasn’t surprised. 

“I’ve never felt that I had the governor’s confidence in my ability to carry out what I thought was my goal of public safety and taking care of the backlog of inmates whom I think were denied fair hearings in the past,” Lewis told Searchlight on Tuesday, shortly after learning about the decision. 

Lujan Grisham press secretary Nora Meyers Sackett said the governor was “grateful to Ms. Lewis for her time spent in service to the state and wishes her all the best.” She said that the change in position was merely a matter of timing and was not related to Lewis’s performance.

The move calls into question the future direction of the parole board, which has an extraordinary amount of power over the lives of convicted criminals whose sentences include parole. The 15 unpaid board members, appointed by the governor, set parole conditions, adjudicate parole violations and decide whether some inmates — such as certain sex offenders and people serving life sentences — stay in prison or get a second chance in the free world. The chair is one of those members.

Lewis was appointed in August, about seven months ago, after a long legal career. 

She joined New Mexico’s public defender office in 1985, and was an attorney there for 25 years. After that, she worked for a variety of other criminal justice organizations and nonprofits, as well as the state legislature. She currently runs Santa Fe Safe, which works with victims of domestic violence.

“I’ve been in this world sort of nonstop one way or another, for victims or criminal defendants,” she said.

Lewis was widely seen by criminal justice advocates as a reformer.

“Sheila Lewis has been a strong advocate for challenging the way parole has functioned,” said Ben Baur, New Mexico’s chief public defender, in a statement. “I hope the governor’s next appointee continues to pursue reform of the parole system.”

State Rep. Antonio Maestas (D-Bernalillo), who has been active in criminal justice reform, called Lewis “one of the best-suited persons in the country for that job.” He added, “It’s disappointing that she’s no longer head of the parole board.” 

A spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office, Matt Baca, offered no comment on Lewis’s performance.

Lewis stands in stark contrast to the previous chair, Sandra Dietz. A 2017 investigation by New Mexico In Depth and the Santa Fe Reporter found that Dietz ensured almost nobody serving a life sentence was granted parole. 

According to New Mexico law, those inmates are supposed to serve 30 years in prison, and then get regular parole hearings. But Dietz used her power to ensure that barely anyone was granted parole at those hearings, according to the investigation. It also concluded that her critics were summarily forced out of their posts. 

From 2010 to 2017, only six lifers got out on parole, the investigation found.

During Lewis’s short stint as chair, five lifers were released, she said. All were convicted of first-degree murder.

Sackett said that Lewis’s change in position had nothing to do with policy disagreements. “The culmination of her time on the board was not related to her performance,” Sackett said. 

Instead, Sackett explained, it was an issue of timing.

Sackett added that Lujan Grisham’s letter to Lewis contained a “regrettable error.” The governor’s letter said she was “removing” Lewis from her position, but Sackett said that wasn’t quite right. Rather, Lewis’s term on the board had simply expired, and it was not being renewed.

That was news to Lewis.

“No one told me it would expire on that date,” she said. She said that if she knew it would be such a short term, she probably would not have accepted it. “You can’t do a lot in that amount of time.”

It’s unclear why Lewis’s term expired on Feb. 28.

Searchlight New Mexico is a non-partisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to investigative reporting and innovative data journalism in New Mexico. 

We're ad free

That means that we rely on support from readers like you. Help us keep reporting on the most important New Mexico Stories by donating today.

Related

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List, a nonprofit that supports women candidates and reproductive rights, endorsed seven incumbents facing general election opponents in New Mexico legislative elections. All…
Equality New Mexico endorses 15 legislative candidates

Equality New Mexico endorses 15 legislative candidates

A New Mexico-based LGBTQ rights organization endorsed 15 candidates for state House and Senate seats for the 2024 elections.  Marshall Martinez, executive director of…
Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Lujan Grisham pocket vetoes two bills

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pocket vetoed two bills the legislature passed this legislative session: one changing the Cybersecurity Act and the other concerning law…
BLM announces final methane waste rule

BLM announces final methane waste rule

The federal Bureau of Land Management announced its final methane waste rule on Wednesday. These new regulations clamp down on the practice of venting…
What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

Migrating birds appear to have caused a virus in dairy cattle that is causing reduced milk production. So far, the disease, which initially started…
Republicans seek to limit national monument designations

Republicans seek to limit national monument designations

Republican-backed legislation in the U.S. Congress would make it harder for the government to designate new national monuments. The proposed Congressional Oversight of the…
Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

Amid new graduation requirements, what do high schoolers want to learn?

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican The main things that bring Brayan Chavez to school every day: Seeing, talking to and engaging with…
Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

Special ed teachers hope lawmakers OK pay raises, admin changes

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican Brittany Behenna Griffith has a laundry list of adjectives to describe the ideal special education teacher:…
Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

Lawmakers must find consensus on competing education spending plans

By Margaret O’Hara, The Santa Fe New Mexican A challenging task awaits New Mexico lawmakers in the next 30 days: Reconciling three very different…
Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Health workers fear it’s profits before protection as CDC revisits airborne transmission

Amy Maxmen, KFF Health News Four years after hospitals in New York City overflowed with covid-19 patients, emergency physician Sonya Stokes remains shaken by…
Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Lujan Grisham, Biden admin announce $10 million in federal funds for tribes, pueblos

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced Friday $10 million in funding from the federal American Rescue Plan Act was awarded to six tribal nations and…
Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

Proposal to curb executive powers moves to House Judiciary

The House Government, Elections and Indian Affairs Committee discussed a potential constitutional amendment that seeks to limit the governor’s executive powers. The committee approved…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

Lawyers from the conservative Christian group that won the case to overturn Roe v. Wade are returning to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in pursuit…
Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Supreme Court to hear two abortion cases this spring

Later this month, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on the case against the abortion medication mifepristone. It will hear a second…
New Mexico Medicaid to cover cost of over-the-counter oral contraception

New Mexico Medicaid to cover cost of over-the-counter oral contraception

New Mexico Medicaid announced on Wednesday that it will cover the cost of Opill, the first oral contraception approved for over-the-counter use. It is…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

At stake in mifepristone case: Abortion, FDA’s authority, and return to 1873 obscenity law

Lawyers from the conservative Christian group that won the case to overturn Roe v. Wade are returning to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday in pursuit…
San Juan County, Navajo Nation settle redistricting case

San Juan County, Navajo Nation settle redistricting case

The Navajo Nation and San Juan County reached an agreement Monday about commission districts after the tribe alleged that its members were not adequately…
MIT ranks NM elections most well-run in the U.S.

MIT ranks NM elections most well-run in the U.S.

New Mexico’s 2022 election was ranked most well-run in the country by Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Election Data and Science Lab’s Elections Performance Index.…
Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List endorses seven candidates for Legislature

Emily’s List, a nonprofit that supports women candidates and reproductive rights, endorsed seven incumbents facing general election opponents in New Mexico legislative elections. All…
BLM announces final methane waste rule

BLM announces final methane waste rule

The federal Bureau of Land Management announced its final methane waste rule on Wednesday. These new regulations clamp down on the practice of venting…
U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

U.S. Supreme Court hears case to restrict access to medication abortion

The U.S. Supreme Court heard the case about the regulations around mifepristone, one of a two-step regime for abortion medication, on Tuesday. FDA v.…
What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

What consumers, farmers should know about the flu impacting dairy cows

Migrating birds appear to have caused a virus in dairy cattle that is causing reduced milk production. So far, the disease, which initially started…

GET INVOLVED

© 2023 New Mexico Political Report