ALBUQUERQUE — Steve Pearce, candidate for Governor, issued the following statement today on the systemic failure to protect children and communities in the Taos compound case:

"The judicial system has failed our state again – this time through the incomprehensible neglect of the Taos District Attorney to meet a simple hearing deadline. New Mexico's prosecutors must do their job to protect our children and communities from dangerous criminals. As Governor, I will demand our officers of the court act when children and communities are at risk. The case in Taos is unacceptable at all levels. The state and the nation are outraged by this incompetence."