SENATE MEMORIAL 77

49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009

INTRODUCED BY

Timothy Z. Jennings

A MEMORIAL

EXPRESSING THE BELATED CONDOLENCE OF THE SENATE TO THE FAMILY OF MELANIE MILFORD CRAVENS AND HER CHILDREN AND HONORING THE LIVES OF MELANIE MILFORD CRAVENS AND HER CHILDREN, KANDYCE MAY NADINE, ERIN LOREE AND KACEE DEON.

     WHEREAS, on Christmas eve, 1992, Melanie Nadine Milford Cravens, thirty-one years old, and her three daughters, Kandyce May Nadine Woodward, nine years old, Erin Loree Woodward, eight years old, and Kacee Deon Woodward, five years old, were tragically killed in a head-on collision on interstate 40; and

     WHEREAS, Paul Cravens, husband of Melanie and stepfather to her daughters, was critically injured in that same accident; and

     WHEREAS, Melanie and the girls will always be remembered for their loving natures and for who they were while they were with us, and they will never age; and

     WHEREAS, Melanie was a beautiful woman who took charge of situations easily and whose family was the center of her life; and

     WHEREAS, Kandyce was a smart and talented child who lived every moment of her brief life with enthusiasm and spirit; and

     WHEREAS, Erin, the middle child, carried sunshine in her heart and joy in her infectious giggle; and

     WHEREAS, Kacee, the baby of the family, was a darling little princess who was very loving and who loved to be waited on; and

     WHEREAS, the three girls and Melanie were committed Christians who loved God and whose faith was strong; and

     WHEREAS, following that tragic night, Melanie's mother, Nadine Milford, dedicated her life to making people aware of New Mexico's problems with DWI and to strengthening the consequences and penalties for DWI; and

     WHEREAS, in 1993, the first year following that night, the New Mexico legislature adopted numerous measures that lowered the legal level of intoxication; made a fourth or subsequent conviction for DWI a felony; created a charge of aggravated DWI for a driver who refused a breath test or had a blood alcohol level above sixteen one-hundredths; created mandatory jail times for second or subsequent DWI offenses; and required server training for all alcohol licensees and their employees; and

     WHEREAS, in intervening years, the New Mexico legislature continued to address this problem area by increasing penalties for DWI; and

     WHEREAS, during his first term as a senator, Kent Cravens carried ignition interlock legislation, and, in 2002, a measure to require ignition interlocks for subsequent and aggravated DWI offenses passed and has since been strengthened; and

     WHEREAS, Gordon House, the driver of the vehicle that killed Melanie and her girls, was convicted of four counts of vehicular homicide and sentenced to twenty-two years in prison; and

     WHEREAS, due to good behavior, Mr. House was granted parole after serving nearly half of his sentence; and

     WHEREAS, upon his release from prison, he will be required to use an ignition interlock device as a provision of his parole; and

     WHEREAS, at the hearing of the parole board, many family members of Melanie Cravens expressed forgiveness and mercy toward Mr. House; and

     WHEREAS, out of the chaos and tragedy of that night in 1992 has arisen great personal courage to forgive and to help others and the passage of many important measures to make New Mexico a better and safer place to live;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the belated condolence of the senate be expressed to the family of Melanie Milford Cravens and her children and that the lives of Melanie Milford Cravens and her children, Kandyce May Nadine Woodward, Erin Loree Woodward and Kacee Deon Woodward, be appropriately honored; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to Paul Cravens, Nadine Milford and Senator Kent L. Cravens.

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