It shall be the duty of all the officers and other citizens of the state, by every means in their power, to suppress any insurrection, mutiny or disorder among convicts sentenced to the penitentiary and to prevent the escape or rescue of any such convicts therefrom, or from any other legal confinement, or from any person in whose legal custody they may be, and if in so doing or arresting any convict who may have escaped, such officer or other person should wound or kill such convict or other person aiding or assisting such convict, they shall be justified and held guiltless, but they shall not be excusable for using greater force than the emergency of the case demands.
NMS § 33-2-31