A New Mexico lawmaker whose son was murdered by a juvenile expressed outrage this week after her criminal justice bill was tanked in favor of what some on the right are calling a “homicide scholarship” program.

State Rep. Nicole Chavez of Albuquerque said Thursday she is “sickened” by the developments.

“New Mexico Democrats voted to hand offenders like my son’s killer $2,000 a month—some twisted reward for shattering my family,” Chavez said of the “homicide scholarship” moniker first dubbed by state Rep. Rod Montoya, R-Farmington, earlier this month.

That bill would provide a monthly stipend for certain former convicts under the age of 26 seeking educational opportunities or other ways to get on the proverbial straight-and-narrow, according to multiple reports.

Per the text of the bill, it would provide money for the Juvenile Community Connections Fund to be used toward programs providing services for adjudicated delinquents and youth, and establish a panel to determine the next steps for a convict released from a juvenile facility.

“I sponsored HB 134 to deliver justice and accountability, but they refused to come to the table,” Chavez said of her original bill.

Chavez’s bill, which had the support of Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, was effectively tanked by Democrats in the House – reportedly including some originally warm to it.

HB 134 sought to update 1970’s-era New Mexico laws outlining the criminal justice process for juveniles, including moving some violent crimes like first-degree murder for younger teen suspects to adult court.

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Lujan Grisham and a handful of Democratic prosecutors supported the bill, according to the Piñon Post, but four Democrats in the Consumer & Public Affairs Committee successfully tabled the bill, which has yet to see further movement as the session winds down.

“This is not progress—it is a knife in the heart of every parent who has buried a child,” Chavez said Thursday. “New Mexico Democrats have turned their backs on victims and their families, choosing instead to reward the very criminals who destroyed our lives.”

Instead, the purported “homicide scholarship” bill was given a reading and passed by the House earlier this month.

Montoya told the Santa Fe New Mexican the new bill, HB 255, is “a perfect example of how progressives think about crime, that the individual doesn’t need to be held responsible for their actions – [in that they] need to be coddled, that they’re somehow a victim themselves, and we need to make sure that they have an opportunity, and we need to do everything we can to rehabilitate them even when it means we do more for them than the victims.”

Lujan Grisham did not respond to requests for comment on the latter bill.

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The governor approved a criminal justice package earlier this month that reportedly targeted fentanyl trafficking in the border state and dealt with suspects deemed mentally unfit for trial and grand theft auto penalties.

However, she was also lambasted by Republicans for supporting what conservatives called one of the strictest pieces of gun control legislation last week. Meanwhile, another top House Republican called the “homicide scholarship” bill “another betrayal to New Mexicans.”

“Democrats have forced through legislation that gives juvenile murderers $2,000 monthly scholarships, funded by the sweat of hardworking taxpayers. This isn’t compassion—it’s a perverse reward for bloodshed, a signal to every thug that crime pays in this state,” said Rep. Stefani Lord of Sandia Park.

Rep. Andrea Reeb, R-Clovis, added that “Homicide Scholarships should alarm every New Mexican who fears for their safety,” and that the signal sent by the bill is that “crime truly pays.”

“Instead of passing common-sense legislation [from Chavez] … they are playing political games at the expense of victims and taxpayers,” Reeb said, while Rep. John Block, R-Alamogordo, added that in the Land of Enchantment, “victims get ignored; thugs get pampered.”

Fox News Digital reached out for a response from Senate President Pro-Tem Mimi Stewart and House Speaker Javier Martinez, both Albuquerque Democrats.

House Majority Leader Reena Szczepanski, D-Santa Fe, also did not respond by press time.

One Democrat, Rep. Andrea Romero of Santa Fe, spoke to the Albuquerque Journal about her opposition to Chavez’ bill, saying that “we’re talking about detaining and committing children.” An Albuquerque prosecutor also cited a 57% increase in juvenile crime in a one-year period through 2023.

Lujan Grisham told the paper that she will continue to urge lawmakers to “answer the call” on juvenile justice reform.

A “magnetic” yoga instructor disappeared before a date in downtown Phoenix, prompting friends and family to alert authorities.

Marcus Freiberger, 45, went missing after he was reportedly scheduled to go on a blind date in downtown Phoenix, Arizona, on Feb. 21. 

The 45-year-old was a go-to instructor at Melrose Yoga and lived with his beloved dog, Thomas.

“He’s a super young man, and he’s the most personable individual and when you speak to his friends, they’ll tell you he’s just a magnet,” his father, Dutch Freiberger, told Fox News affiliate KSAZ-TV. 

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Dutch told the outlet that his son had a history of drug addiction and had participated in rehabilitation. He said that his role at the yoga studio was a good fit and that he was happy.

The owner of Melrose Yoga, Forrest Kruger, told the outlet that Freiberger is an excellent instructor and has a lot of friends.

“Kind of guy all of his friends were coming in here for his classes. I met lots of them. Nothing but positive things to say. He was a great guy, is a great yoga teacher, too. I took his class myself,” Kruger said.

“Where is he? What happened to him? He was making progress and doing all these great things and getting ahead in life, which is making him happy,” Kruger said.

Marcus Freiberger would never abandon his beloved dog, Thomas, who was left alone for several days, his father said. (Marcus Freiberger via Instagram)

On March 14, officers confirmed to Fox News Digital that they had conducted a follow-up on the case after Freiberger’s parents reported him missing.

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“Freiberger has not been located, however there is nothing leading investigators to say he is in imminent danger,” the Phoenix Police Department said.

The 45-year-old is 6’0″ and weighs 225 lbs, with dark hair and brown eyes. (Marcus Freiberger via Instagram)

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Freiberger was last seen at a parking garage in downtown Phoenix. He has a white 2021 GMC Sierra pickup truck with an Arizona plate reading 3MA66L.

He is 6’0″ and weighs 225 lbs, with dark hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call Phoenix Police at 602-534-2121.

With the recent launch of the National Energy Dominance Council to increase energy production and speed infrastructure permitting, the president has an opportunity to turn destructive Biden-era policies into tools of his America First agenda.

What the Democrats created for their purposes, President Donald Trump can use for his.

And that is especially true with President Joe Biden’s clean energy agenda. From EV subsidies and mandates to rejoining the Paris climate agreement and investments in green energy infrastructure, the last administration spent countless hours and cost Americans well over a trillion dollars in an attempt to drive down carbon emissions.

Naturally, Biden’s subsidy and regulatory approach didn’t work. The Democrats fell short of their carbon reduction targets and U.S. debt skyrocketed.

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Yet while the Biden administration failed to accomplish its climate change goals, Trump’s National Energy Dominance Council can repurpose Democratic-built tools to advance an America First energy agenda.  

A prime target for reform would be Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This bloated bill was replete with waste, unnecessary earmarks and classic Washington grift. But there are also some beneficial policies as well. The IRA provides hundreds of billions of dollars to infrastructure, job creation and technological innovation in the clean energy sector.

“Clean energy sector” may have a left-coded ring to it, but on the ground, these jobs are precisely what we need to revitalize the workforce among the forgotten men and women of America who vaulted Trump to office. In large part because blue jurisdictions are so overburdened by taxes and regulations, 80% of the Biden administration’s clean energy manufacturing investments actually went to Republican districts.

In fact, it’s not a blue state like California that is at the forefront of the U.S. clean energy sector – it’s deep-red Texas.

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The National Energy Dominance Council should lean into these investments and let red states follow Texas’ lead. The clean energy market is already well over $1.2 trillion and growing at over 5% a year. 

The market for clean energy technology alone is expected to balloon to over $2 trillion by the mid-2030s. If current trends hold, China will eat up the lion’s share of this market. We can’t let that happen. 

Ironically, China has relied on its high-polluting economy to become the leading producer of solar panels and other clean tech. We must maintain national investments in this sector to keep clean energy development, manufacturing and production jobs in America rather than China. At the end of the day, we want American citizens and the world to buy our solar panels, batteries, nuclear technology and more.

When that happens, red America will not only benefit with lower energy costs and more manufacturing jobs – it will also give more Americans the freedom to produce and store their own power instead of having a local utility company control their energy destiny.

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However, simply repurposing Biden-era policies in wise ways is not enough. Trump will win where Biden failed because his energy strategy realizes the U.S. can’t attain energy dominance without dominating every energy technology. 

Instead of going all-in on clean energy tech alone, Trump also wholeheartedly embraces America’s legacy of fossil fuel production. To be energy dominant, America must keep oil and gas production high to drive down prices, retain good-paying American jobs, and displace higher-emitting fuels abroad.

By leaning into American oil and gas, Trump will also help the environment – just like he did during his first administration, when historic American LNG production helped cut U.S. carbon emissions to the lowest level in a quarter of a century.

Not every Biden-era green policy is ripe for redemption. Far from it: EV mandates, for example, are not only costly and inefficient but an affront to American freedom. And Biden’s regulatory attack on the oil and gas industry drove up prices while undermining what remains our greatest strategic energy advantage.

But we shouldn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. The National Energy Dominance Council should utilize Biden-era energy investments, redirect programs where possible and eliminate what can’t be used. When that happens, President Trump will have the ultimate victory – achieving total and complete energy dominance as fast, and efficiently, as possible.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM NEIL CHATTERJEE