New Mexico Supreme Court: People can sue the state over mistaken release of inmates

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – The State of New Mexico could be held liable for a killing after mistakenly releasing a dangerous inmate: that’s according to the state Supreme Court which paved the way for the victim’s family to sue the state prison system.

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The decision surrounds Christopher Blattner who was accused of killing a woman in 2012 while he was supposed to be locked up. Nearly a decade ago, Blattner pled no contest to the killing of his neighbor, Kathy Paquin, in 2012. “The daughter I’ve been working with is the daughter of Mrs. Paquin. Her mother was brutally killed by a prisoner who had a history of felonies, who had previously murdered someone, and who should have been behind bars for the next three years,” said Adam Flores, an attorney representing the family.

The crime happened after Blattner was mistakenly released from prison three years early because of a paperwork error while he was serving a sentence in a drug case. While Blattner later rescinded his plea, saying he was high on drugs at the time, Blattner’s wife told investigators he confessed to murdering Paquin and dismembering the corpse. Her remains have never been found. “There’s really been no sense of justice at all in this case,” Flores said.

However, Paquin’s family is one step closer to finding that justice after Thursday’s decision from the New Mexico Supreme Court. A district court judge originally ruled the Department of Corrections (DOC) would not be responsible for damages—like the murder of Paquin—that occurred off prison property, and that New Mexico state law provides immunity for government entities against claims like this. “The courts were applying a special defense that prevented people from suing the state for the negligent release of prisoners and the Supreme Court has now said there is no such defense for that and a jury gets to decide,” Flores said.

The State Supreme Court ruled that immunity does not apply here, and Paquin’s estate may sue the DOC for what Blattner did when he was out because his release was the result of negligence by prison staff.

Now, 12 years after Paquin’s murder: “I’m just so happy that we can now take this case to trial,” Flores said. The decision opens the state up to future lawsuits if inmates are released and hurt someone. “In my mind, this ruling will result in more careful, more responsive agencies; and prisons and jails taking greater care that the staff are properly trained, that records are properly kept, and that inmates are required to serve the full terms of their sentences,” Flores said.

Blattner has never been convicted of Paquin’s murder or the murder of a drug dealer he was accused of in 2007. The charges in those cases have been dismissed for now while Blattner serves a 30-year federal prison sentence on drug charges.

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