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A Republican prosecutor running a tough-on-crime campaign against a Democratic defense attorney should have checked his evidence before launching the political attack that’s now backfiring.

Hillsborough County Attorney John Coughlin’s reelection campaign recently launched a website attacking his opponent, Kim Kossick, for defending alleged Valley Cemetery rapist Amuri Diole. Diole was arrested in April 2021 for the violent rape of a woman for two hours in the cemetery.

But court records show Diole had been released from jail a week before the alleged rape because prosecutors in Coughlin’s office failed to file the necessary paperwork to keep the dangerous suspect locked up.

“I can’t change history. I can’t change the facts,” Coughlin told NHJournal.

At the same time, Coughlin’s opponent is trying to use the campaign website to get Diole off the hook for ever facing a trial over the horrific crime he allegedly committed.

Kossick is taking heat for running as a liberal reformer.

Because the campaign website mentions the Diole case, Kossick filed a motion in court to have the criminal charges dismissed. Diole was deemed incompetent to stand trial in the alleged rape in 2022 and is currently being held in the New Hampshire State Prison Secure Psychiatric Unit in Concord as the state seeks to have him ruled a sexually violent predator and then have him further held on an involuntary civil commitment.

But under state law, if Diole is ever returned to competency through medical treatment, he could then go on trial for the alleged rape. Kossik wants Diole to avoid prosecution in the future because, she says, Coughlin’s attack on her work defending Diole against the civil commitment taints the potential jury pool.

“The website is targeted at Hillsborough County voters and jurors,” Kossick said. “The people on the voting rolls are the jurors.”

Coughlin supporters say it is an example of the progressive approach Kossick would take to prosecuting crime. The issue has even reached the New Hampshire governor’s race.

On WMUR, Adam Sexton asked Democrat Joyce Craig if she supported the effort to use a campaign attack ad to get Diole exempted from prosecution. She appeared to defend her fellow Democrat.

“Everyone has the right to a civil defense,” Craig said. “And Kim Kossick is doing her job, and I believe that the county attorney has to be someone who represents our county and is always doing what’s right.”

Kossick says the real issue is that Diole wouldn’t have been out and able to commit the crime of Coughlin’s office had done its job.

“Coughlin doesn’t know what’s going on in his own office,” Kossick said.

Kossick was appointed to represent Diole during the civil commitment proceedings in the 2021 rape case, and ended up appealing the commitment to the New Hampshire Supreme Court. The Supreme Court sided against Doile. Coughlin’s website attacks Kossick for representing Diole.

“Instead of ensuring justice for the victim, Kossick prioritized the legal defense of a man deemed too dangerous to release into society,” the website states.

Coughlin, echoing the website, told NHJournal that Kossick does not prioritize the rights of victims and their families as evidenced by her work to represent Diole. 

“The website is about her judgment and about victims rights, and her failure to protect the victims of crimes and their families,” Coughlin said.

But NHJournal reviewed the court records in Diole’s criminal history and found a failure by Coughlin’s office put Diole on the street a week before the alleged rape.

According to court records, Diole was jailed in early 2021 as the result of a 2018 assault case in Nashua. When the issue of Dole’s competency was raised in pre-trial in that case, he underwent an examination by Forensic Psychologist Mathilde Pelaprat. On Jan. 27, 2021, Judge Charles Temple deemed Diole a danger to himself and others and ordered Diole held for 90 days, giving time for prosecutors to have Diole committed.

But prosecutors failed to get the involuntary commitment order within the 90 days, forcing Temple to release Diole in his April 23, 2021, order. 

“In accordance with RSA 135:17-a, V, the defendant is released from custody at the Hillsborough County House of Corrections. The State has been unable to secure an involuntary commitment order and the 90 day hold period expires on April 27, 2021. As such, Mr. Diole’s release is mandatory under RSA 135:17-a, V,” Temple wrote.

According to media reports, Diole went from living in the Valley Street Jail in Manchester to the Valley Cemetery across the street for the next six days before he was arrested again for the brutal rape. 

Coughlin blamed Diole’s release on the fact one of his assistant county attorneys was unable to get a qualified specialist to examine Diole within the 90-day timeframe. Prosecutors must use specially qualified experts from a pre-approved list provided by the state to examine people for involuntary commitment proceedings, he said. 

“We made reasonable efforts to identify specialists,” Coughlin said.

Since Dole’s re-arrest for the alleged rape, Coughlin said his office worked with the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office on an expanded list of qualified specialists to make sure people who are a danger to the community can be committed. 

Kossick said blaming her, a defense attorney, for representing a criminal ignores the right every American has for a vigorous defense under both the United States Constitution and the New Hampshire Constitution.

“Defense attorneys are the only people standing between the government and their client,” Kossick said.

Kossick was surprised that Coughlin, a former judge, would attack her for the work she did as a defense attorney. Not only does such an attack undermine the criminal justice system, but it is totally out of character for Coughlin, she said.

“We all thought John Coughlin was a very good judge,” Kossick said. “We all thought he was great because he never revoked bail and never put anyone in jail. I can only assume he’s pandering to somebody.”

The revolving door that lets criminals loose hours after their arrest is getting shut down as Gov. Chris Sununu signed a bail reform bill into law on Thursday. It followed months of lobbying from Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais.

“We have been fighting for these pro-victim fixes to bail reform for a long time and appreciate Manchester Mayor Jay Ruais leading the effort of local officials to help get it over the finish line,” Sununu said.

Ruais took up the bail reform cause on his first day in office, heading to Concord to demand lawmakers fix the system that he said allowed alleged criminals to go crime sprees with brief time outs for arrests.

“This is a victory for Manchester and every other town and city in our state,” Ruais said. “The safety of our city is non-negotiable, and this bill contains many reforms that will make Manchester safer. I want to thank the governor and legislature for their efforts to work together in a bipartisan way to reaffirm their commitment to the safety of our communities.”

Manchester’s crime problem became emblematic of the problem with the bail system. In March, Ruais said that of the 817 people Manchester Police arrested in the first few months of the year, 306 — or 37 percent — were already out on bail for a previous criminal charge. In the 12 months prior, repeat offenders made up 26 percent of the total arrests, with 1,178 people already on bail of the total 4,529.

Ruais campaigned on the need to fix bail, support police, and clean up the city, winning a stunning victory over Mayor Joyce Craig’s handpicked successor, Democrat Kevin Cavanaugh. 

House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Chairman Rep. Terry Roy (R-Deerfield) said the bill signed Thursday corrects serious flaws in the 2018 law that attempted to make the bill system more just.  

“These flaws allowed offenders to be released despite being re-arrested for violations of multiple bail release conditions. Sometimes these were violent offenders and their release led to tragic results. We heard from law enforcement, that oftentimes, arrestees were released and back on the street before the officer had the opportunity to complete the report,” Roy said on Twitter/X.

The new law saw police chiefs, the New Hampshire ACLU, Republicans, and Democrats work together, said Rep. David Meuse (D-Portsmouth.)

“This bill is the end product of a good-faith effort by legislators from both parties and stakeholders as diverse as ACLU-NH and the New Hampshire Chiefs of Police Association. It shows that enhancing public safety and protecting civil liberties don’t have to be mutually exclusive. I’m pleased that the governor chose to sign it into law,” Meuse said.

Perhaps more surprisingly, the need for bail reform even had House Republicans working with Senate Republicans. 

“After years of violent criminals and re-offenders being released on PR bail because of a flawed system, the House and Senate finally found a compromise that will work,” said Sen. Bill Gannon (R-Sandown). “I am thankful for the bipartisan efforts of Chairman Terry Roy, the House Criminal Justice Committee, and the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee who spent countless hours working on this. This is a huge win for the state of New Hampshire and we should be proud to deliver real results for our communities.”

The new law closes the revolving door by stopping the release of people re-arrested while already on bail, as well as causing certain violent offenders to be only allowed bail after review by a judge or magistrate, according to Roy. The old system allowed offenders to get bail reviews by civilian bail commissioners instead of the the bail commissioner. 

Other changes include having the courts pay bail commissioners instead of the defendants, more training for bail commissioners, and more protections for crime victims.  The bill also requires notification for victims of domestic violence before their alleged abuser is released on bail. 

The law also updates the way technology is used so police officers will be able to check someone’s bail status in real time. The prior system had paper bail orders entered into databases, meaning there could be a lag time before the bail was entered into computer systems police access, meaning officers couldn’t know if someone they had in custody was already out on bail, Roy said.

“Under the 2018 system, officers were often forced to rely on the honor system, hoping an arrestee would tell them that they were already on bail from another charge in a different jurisdiction,” Roy said. 

The 2018 reform sought to stop the unintended consequence of a cash bail system that put poor people to jail pre-trial. In some cases, people would be held for weeks or months in jail without a conviction because they could not come up with a few hundred dollars for bail. 

Roy said the bill signed Thursday will still keep people charged with nonviolent crimes from going to jail without a conviction. Cash bail will not be universal, but set aside for people charged in violent crimes or people who allegedly commit crimes while already out on bail.

“Cash bail remains a legitimate tool available to the courts, but only to assure an appearance by someone who is able to pay. It will not be used as a way to hold people,” Roy said.

In fact, Roy said the new law makes sure that no one will be held more than 24 hours without having their case reviewed by the court, including weekends and holidays. 

Hours after Nashua’s James Morris was charged with senselessly assaulting police officers during a traffic stop, he made bail and was back on the streets.

“It’s certainly frustrating for the officers,” said Nashua Sgt. John Cinelli. 

James Morris

Morris, 32, is just one of the alleged violent offenders who have caused mayhem in recent days in incidents throughout the state, incidents abetted by New Hampshire’s reformed bail system. 

The 2018 bail reform was meant to eliminate the unintended consequence of the cash bail system that resulted in cases of poor people charged with relatively minor, nonviolent crimes but who were unable to afford bail.

People like Jeffrey Pendleton, a 26-year-old Nashua panhandler arrested in 2016 on a marijuana possession charge. Pendleton ended up in Valley Street Jail in Manchester when he couldn’t come up with the $100 cash bail. Five days later, he was found dead in his cell from a drug overdose.

But now, instead of protecting poor, nonviolent offenders, bail reform is letting people charged with violent felonies stay on the street.

Police stopped Morris’ car near School Street Friday night, and he refused to give the officers his identity before he decided to start fighting with them, according to Cinelli.

“We have no idea why he did that,” Cinelli said.

On Thursday, Concord homeless man Victor Manns, 23, allegedly stabbed two tourists on South Main Street and led officers on a prolonged manhunt. Manns’ was walking around despite being charged with assault in June and again in August in separate incidents.

Victor Manns

According to police, the couple were in their car parked in front of a business on South Main Street when Manns, wearing a mask and a hood, approached and began hitting the car. The alarmed couple got out of the car. Manns reportedly brandished his knife, threatened the pair, and then stabbed them, according to police.

Manns ran from the scene of the attack, kicking off a two-hour police search of the downtown area before he was captured.

On Friday, Claremont woman Brandie Jones, 33, allegedly hit a Nashua police officer with her car to avoid a felony arrest. At the time of the incident, Jones was wanted in Londonderry on warrants, including a breach of her previous bail in another case.

Brandie Jones

Nashua police had previously stopped Jones but gave a false name to officers as she had been convicted of being a habitual traffic offender by the state. If caught driving, habitual offenders face new felony charges.

After getting stopped for the second time on Friday night, Cinelli said Jones was getting out of her car as instructed by police when she changed her mind. With the door still open, she got back in the driver’s seat and sped off. The open car door hit one officer, Cinelli said.

Jones made it to Londonderry, where she ditched her car and ran. Londonderry Police eventually found her with the help of a police dog and took her into custody. 

Cinelli said that none of the Nashua officers suffered any serious injuries from the incidents involving Jones and Morris. The couple attacked by Manns both suffered lacerations, and one sustained minor injuries, which required a trip to the hospital. 

Cinelli said the 2018 bail reform law makes it easy for people charged with a crime to avoid jail, get back out, and re-offend. 

“When these guys are getting bail and getting out that quickly, what is going to stop (them) from doing it to more officers or civilians who don’t have the ability to defend themselves,” Cinelli said.

Jay Ruais, the Republican running to replace Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig, has been demanding changes to the state’s bail system as crime becomes a bigger problem in the Queen City. In recent weeks, two men charged in an Elm Street shooting got released on relatively low cash bail. In another incident, 10 people were arrested for being part of a street fight in the area of Auburn and Cedar Streets, where two men were stabbed. Most of those suspects were quickly released on bail.

“Violent, dangerous, and repeat offenders should never be on our streets,” Ruais said. “As mayor, I will make sure our police have the resources and tools they need to make our community more safe.”

Two men arrested for their alleged involvement in a Manchester shooting this week are back on the streets, thanks to New Hampshire’s PR bail system. 

A PR bond, or personal recognizance bond, is a type of bail bond that allows a defendant to be released from custody without paying any money upfront. Instead, the defendant must promise to appear in court for all scheduled appearances. The defendant’s word is essentially their bail bond.

It is another example of the failed bail reform that is making cities like Manchester unsafe because violent criminals aren’t going to jail, said Jay Ruais, the sole Republican candidate for mayor.

“This incident highlights the massive problem Manchester is facing right now. Every day, our police officers heroically perform their duty, and before the ink is dry on the paperwork, violent offenders are released back out onto our streets.” Ruais said. “The status quo in the city of Manchester cannot, and must not continue. This makes our city less safe and creates a system that encourages criminal activity and behavior.”

Brandon Middaugh, 32, and Justin Middaugh, 30, were arrested this week after an Ash Street shooting sent a man to the hospital. A Police SWAT team responded to a report of a fight, and officers found a man with a gunshot wound in his leg outside.

Brandon Middaugh

Justin Middaugh

The Middaughs were both later charged with simple assault and released. Justin Middaugh’s criminal history includes leading police on a high-speed chase and fighting with officers who eventually arrested him for drunk driving. 

Last year in Manchester, 75-year-old Daniel Whitmore was stabbed and killed by homeless man Raymond Moore, 40. Moore was out on bail for assault at the time of the stabbing.

And in June, a man threatened Dollar Tree employees with a box cutter during a shoplifting attempt. Manchester police arrested the man, who had recently been released on bail.

It is past time for the bail system to be fixed, Ruais said, vowing to fight to make sure that happens.

“For the safety and security of our city, the next mayor must fight to fix our broken bail system to keep criminals off our streets. I am the only candidate in the race demanding a fix to our broken bail system to keep dangerous criminals off our streets,” Ruais said. “Our jails cannot be a revolving door for violent criminals. It is past time for our city’s leadership to step up and fight for a fix to the broken bail system that is devastating Manchester families and businesses.”

Ruais is the only candidate running for mayor who has made bail reform a major campaign issue. Democrats like Will Stewart and June Trisciani have been focusing on issues like housing and education and largely avoided talking about bail reform at the recent mayoral candidate forum. 

Democrat Kevin Cavanaugh, who supported the 2018 bail reform bill that critics like Ruais say has failed, blamed Republicans in Concord for not fixing the problem.

“We have to get violent people off the street,” Cavanaugh said at the forum. “The Republicans have the power in Concord to do that, and for the past two years, they wouldn’t do it.”

Efforts to scale back the 2018 bail reform law were shot down this year by a coalition of Free State-aligned Republicans and progressive Democrats. The New Hampshire American Civil Liberties Union pushed hard against any proposal to keep criminals in jail.

The NH ACLU claims the 2018 bail reform has not made communities unsafe and has helped keep poor people from being treated unjustly.

“Until bail reform in 2018, thousands of Granite Staters were incarcerated pre-trial each year not because they were a danger to their community, but simply because they could not afford to pay their bail,” Frank Knaack, the NH ACLU’s policy director wrote. 

Granite State Christians gearing up for the penitential season of Lent beginning Wednesday can rest assured that New Hampshire is full of Yankee saintliness, according to a new study. 

WalletHub reports New Hampshire is the least sinful state in New England and the third least sinful state in the country.

Maybe it’s something in the water.

Comparing data points like rates of violent crime, theft, addiction, gambling, and porn use across all 50 states and the District of Columbia, WalletHub ranked New Hampshire the third most virtuous place in the country.

Compared to the rest of the U.S., Granite Staters take “thou shalt not steal” seriously — with a low crime rate, including thefts and property crime. When it comes to “thou shalt not kill,” New Hampshire consistently has one of the lowest murder rates in the nation.

And if idle hands are the devil’s playground, New Hampshire residents ward off evil by keeping active, with one of the highest rates of residents who get regular exercise. Speaking of idle hands, Granite Staters also spend less time on pornographic websites than residents of most other states.

The report also ranks states using the metric of the Seven Deadly Sins, first enumerated by Pope Gregory I in the 6th century.

New Hampshire has the least amount of anger and hatefulness and is the third least lazy state. Granite Staters rank low on the jealousy and excessive vice rankings as well and manage to keep vanity and lust under control as well, according to the WalletHub study.

However, Granite Staters might want to consider giving up behaviors that lead to avarice for lent, as New Hampshire ranks in the top 20 for most amount greed.

Ash Wednesday begins the 40-day season of Lent, during which Christians undergo a season of sacrifice to prepare for Easter. Tara Bishop, communications director for the Diocese of Manchester, said despite apparent virtue found among New Hampshire’s good people, everyone is encouraged to take a Lenten journey of self-sacrifice.

“As we’re beginning Lent, we encourage everyone to dive into its opportunities for self-reflection, penitence, prayer, and almsgiving – a great time to make a change for the better,” Bishop said.

Ironically, New Hampshire is also one of the most secular states in the union. According to World Population Review, just 33 percent of the state’s adults are religious, tied with Vermont for the lowest rate in America.

Regardless of one’s faith, vice and virtue have a financial cost, according to WalletHub’s study.

“The cost of state sins is something we have to share as a nation, though. Gambling alone costs the U.S. about $5 billion per year. That’s nothing compared to the amount of money we lose from smoking, though – over $300 billion per year. Harmful behavior on the individual level can add up to staggering economic costs on a national scale,” the report states.

Micah Johnson, an assistant professor at the University of South Florida’s Department of Mental Health Law and Policy, College of Community and Behavioral Sciences, said every state has a little bit of heaven and hell. Promoting virtue is something that communities can achieve, he said.

“I think the sinfulness of a city is rooted in those macro-level factors, like employment, law, and culture,” Johnson said. “I think the most saintly states are the ones that do the absolute best that they can to improve health and wellness in the context of its challenges and resources.”

He said targeting investment in things like additional prevention and recovery programs, outdoor space for recreation, and access to healthcare can lead to a saintlier population.

Wyoming and Idaho outrank New Hampshire when it comes to walking in the light, according to WalletHub. It may be no surprise that Nevada is considered the most sinful state, with California, Louisiana, Florida, and Pennsylvania rounding out the top five.

Changing New Hampshire’s bail reform system, which critics say allows dangerous criminals to walk free, is a top priority for both Republican Gov. Chris Sununu and his Democratic challenger, state Sen. Tom Sherman, D-Rye. 

“There should be outrage and appetite for change,” Sununu told WMUR’s Adam Sexton this weekend.

Sununu signed a bail reform bill in his first term after being assured it would balance public safety and the goal of avoiding putting non-violent offenders in jail for minor offenses. Instead, critics say, serious criminals are being released and reoffending.

“I signed it because it had the support of law enforcement,” Sununu said. “I said ‘Will this work?’ Everyone believed it would be OK, so we signed it. But we all see what was happening.”

Sununu was referencing the August murder of an elderly Manchester man by a suspect who had been arrested twice in the weeks leading up to the stabbing.

Manchester resident Daniel Whitmore, 75, was found with multiple stab wounds on a walking trail near Bradley Street in August. The suspect in the murder, homeless man Raymond Moore, 40, had been arrested twice last summer. Once in July in Nashua for resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, and again in August for another apparent stabbing incident. He was released from custody, and without bail, in both cases.

Manchester’s Democratic Mayor Joyce Craig took to Twitter to decry the state’s lenient bail system.

“Our criminal justice system cannot continue releasing violent offenders back onto our streets. I, once again, urge our legislators to act quickly and address this issue. The safety of our residents is at stake,” Craig said.

During his own WMUR appearance last weekend, Sherman also voiced support for changing New Hampshire’s bail laws to keep violent suspects locked up.

“Do I support rebalancing bail reform? Absolutely. Do I support protecting people from violent criminals? I always have,” Sherman said.

Sherman and Sununu supported the effort this year to change bail laws, but that proposal died in the legislature when the House voted it down. The bill lost support largely from Democratic members. Sherman said too many people did not seem to understand how the bill would work.

“The solution is we have to recognize — whatever we do for bail reform, we have to make sure the system will support it,” Sherman said. “That was the problem. The system did not support, with adequate scrutiny, who was being released and who was not.”

Sununu blames the left, especially progressive organizations like New Hampshire’s ACLU, for blocking the bail reform effort.

“You have the ACLU, these extreme left-wing groups that say they do not want to change anything,” Sununu said. “You have individuals that get arrested, they are getting out before the cop that arrested them has done the paperwork. It is messed up,” Sununu said.

New Hampshire’s ACLU claims the bail laws allowing more people to be released from custody has made New Hampshire safer. They say instead of finding ways to keep more violent suspects locked up, the legsilators should fund more community needs.

“Lawmakers should focus our limited tax dollars on investments that will actually make our communities safer and more just, like housing, transportation, and mental health and substance use treatment,” the ACLU stated earlier this year. “Pretrial detention has a devastating human toll. Even for a short period of time, it increases the likelihood of innocent people pleading guilty to a crime, loss of employment, income, and housing, and traumatic family disruption.”

The conservative Americans for Prosperity also opposed this year’s bail reform efforts, but it does support changes to the law. Ross Connolly, AFP’s deputy state director, said the organization wants to see bail commissioners replaced with magistrate judges when it comes to deciding who can be released and who needs to stay locked up.

“Pre-trial detention is a balance between public safety and the presumption of innocence,” Connolly said. “We understand the concerns with bail, and there is a way to address the issue without throwing out individual rights. Replacing bail commissioners with a magistrate system is a fix that all sides can get behind.  A magistrate system will improve public safety, will pass the legislature, and will cost Granite State taxpayers less than other proposals.” 

Early Sunday morning, Hooksett Police found the body of Jason Wirtz, stabbed in the neck and bleeding, on Main Street. Later that day, they arrested Dillon Sleeper, age 26, formerly of Franklin, and charged him with second-degree murder.

It was the 17th homicide in New Hampshire, a state that’s averaged 18 murders a year since 2017. And it’s still July.

New Hampshire is generally one of the safest states in the country when it comes to violent crime in general and homicide in particular, according to FBI records. It’s certain to blow past its average murder rate this year.

“We’ve responded to 14 separate callouts for investigations that have involved 16 different deceased individuals,” said Michael Garrity, director of communications for Attorney General John Formella said Friday. “These include matters where investigations involved allegations of self-defense/defense of another.”

Among the dead this year is a Hudson infant who died last month in what is now considered suspicious circumstances. The 15-day-old infant was taken from the parents’ home, at an apartment on Burns Hill Road in Hudson, to a local hospital in medical distress. While the case is deemed suspicious, the official cause and manner of death are still pending an autopsy.

Most suspicious deaths are resolved quickly by law enforcement. For example, earlier this month Timothy Hill, 72, of Winchester, was found shot in his home. Police soon arrested Keegan Duhaime, 26, of Winchester, and charged him with two counts of second-degree murder.

In some cases, the alleged killer is already dead by the time police arrive, as in the recent Alstead incident where authorities were called to a reported murder-suicide involving a man killing his domestic partner, then himself.

However, there are still unsolved cases in New Hampshire this year. The April murders of Concord couple Stephen and Djeswende Reid remain a mystery. Police recently announced a reward of $50,000 for information that leads to an arrest and indictment of whoever is responsible for their deaths.

According to law enforcement, the Reids left their home in the Alton Woods apartment complex on the afternoon of Monday, April 18, and went for a walk to the area of the Broken Ground Trails which are off Portsmouth Street in Concord. Family and friends did not see or hear from them. The Reids’ bodies were found in the early evening of April 21 in a wooded area near the Marsh Loop Trail.

Now, with a little more than five months left in the year, New Hampshire is on pace to beat the current five-year average of 18 homicides by the end of 2022.

The most recent FBI data runs through 2020, and it shows New Hampshire had one of the lowest homicide rates in the country that year with 12 total. In 2019, New Hampshire had a spike in homicide with 30. In 2018 there were 19 homicides, in 2017 there were 12, and in 2017 12 homicides were recorded.

While this year could reveal an uptick in murder, New Hampshire has historically seen a low ratio of violent crimes, as New Hampshire’s violent crime rate has dropped every year since 2017.

The state recorded the second-lowest violent crime rate in the country in 2020. According to the FBI data compiled from New Hampshire law enforcement agencies, the violent crime rate in New Hampshire was 195.7 incidents per 100,000 people in 2017. It fell to 146.4 per 100,000 in 2020.

Even as New Hampshire’s crime rate fell, it skyrocketed nationally. The FBI found a 30 percent spike in murders in 2020, and the violent crime rate went up to 398.5 incidents per 100,000 people.

President Joe Biden and his allies in Congress have proposed gun control laws to address the nation’s spike in violence. Last week the House Judiciary Committee passed a ban on rifles labeled “assault weapons” by politicians. The ban is backed by all four members of the New Hampshire congressional delegation.

However, Second Amendment advocates note the Granite State’s low crime rate is accompanied by one of the highest rates of gun ownership in the country–the second-highest number of guns per capita according to one survey. New Hampshire also makes it easy to buy guns. It’s also a relatively easy place to buy and own guns.

New Hampshire is the only New England state in the top 25 rankings for gun rights. Guns and Ammo rank the Granite State number 17 on its Best States for Gun Owners list, ahead of Alabama, South Carolina, and Florida. There are no bans on so-called “assault weapons” in New Hampshire.