New Mexico Penal Code Made Simple

by Kimani Upshur, M.Ed.

Most people never learn criminal law until they need it — at a traffic stop, in a holding cell, or across the table from a prosecutor. By then, it is too late to learn it calmly. New Mexico Penal Code Made Simple is your plain-English guide to the criminal law of New Mexico, built on the real code: the Criminal Code, Chapter 30 of the New Mexico Statutes. In twelve short chapters, Kimani Upshur explains how Chapter 30 is organized, how crimes are graded from petty misdemeanors to capital felonies, and what the major offenses mean — homicide, assault and battery (New Mexico law treats them as separate offenses), domestic violence, stalking, kidnapping, child abuse, sexual offenses, theft, robbery, burglary, drug crimes, weapons offenses, fraud, identity theft, and DWI. You will learn what defenses the law recognizes and what happens from arrest through trial, sentencing, and beyond. Every chapter ends with ‘Know the Law’ takeaways and ‘Protect Yourself’ action steps, built on the framework’s guiding triad: Know. Respect. Protect. This is general education, not legal advice, and the book says so plainly. Written from a Christian worldview — Scripture first.