09/19/39 - 03/22/88
The family and
friends of Estevan Vigil along with NMSOH are hoping to put a stop
to the continued pressure put on by some local "victims"
groups who are inappropriately attempting to see Janet Vigil, the
murderer of Estevan Vigil, released early from prison based on
nothing but the words of his killer - Janet Vigil. Janet was
convicted by a Jury and found guilty of 1st degree premeditated
murder and this decision was reviewed and upheld on appeal by the
NM Supreme Court. Each new Governor is asked or
pressured in one way or another to pardon or commute the life
sentence of Janet Vigil.
NMSOH has researched
this case and based on the facts, not the words of the
murderer, find there is no merit to the claims that
Estevan's murder was in any shape or form justified.
There is no proof that we have seen to uphold Janet Vigil's claims
of domestic abuse or the claims that her 26 year old daughter was
molested by her stepfather, Mr. Vigil.
When former Governor
Gary Johnson was considering this issue back in 2001 he was told
that Janet Vigil was an abused woman who was serving a life
sentence unjustly. This was only a claim made by the
convicted murderer and someone has somehow convinced a few of the
domestic violence woman's groups to take up her cause. When
our President, Patti March, asked to speak to the coalition
of domestic violence groups who were pushing for this murderers
release, we were denied. They did not want to hear about the
facts that we had uncovered through legal documents and
discussions with the prosecutor/s and advocates who handled this
case.
Fortunately, the
family of the victim, NMSOH and letters from concerned citizens
convinced former Governor Johnston to look at the facts. The
facts spoke for themselves and Johnson determined it was not in
the best interest of justice or our community to commute the
sentence of Janet Vigil.
Our sources tell
us now that the newest attempt has already begun with our new Governor
Richardson. This has been going on for years and the family
of Estevan must relive their pain each time this issue is brought
up to a new Governor. We urge those pushing for her
release to stop or at the very least read some of the facts first
in the Supreme Court Ruling which upheld the 1st degree conviction
of this murderer and base your decision on fact not rumor.
These documents
are in .pdf format. It requires that you have Adobe
Acrobat's free reader installed on your machine. If you need
a copy just click on the link below to download it.
Letter
to Former Governor Johnson from the Vigil Family.
State of New Mexico v.
Janet Elaine Vigil No. 18869 - Supreme Court of New Mexico.
On behalf of the
extended family of Mr. Estevan Vigil we thank you for taking the
time to review the documents before judging the victim in this
case with no facts. Mr. Vigil can not speak for himself so we
must be his voice.
Patti March
President, NMSOH
patti@candothat.com
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