Coloradans have created one of the most politically lopsided General Assemblies in our history. Although unadvertised during the recent election, the result will be a progressive legislature whose offender-friendly will cannot be denied, but whose appetite can be predicted. For the ongoing disassembly of what remains of our weakened criminal justice system, past is prologue.

Though its agenda was abandoned temporarily this past election year – as Colorado’s historic crime tsunami lurked around the ballot – the legislature now will push forward with numerous controversial lurches leftward away from public safety, justice and common sense.

The progressives will propose “felony sentencing reform.” Be worried. Remember what a less-woke General Assembly did with drug reform (2019) and misdemeanor reform (2021); they de-felonized the possession of fentanyl, heroin, meth, etc., as well as legalized the possession of AR-15s by convicted drug dealers, car thieves and tens of thousands of other felons. Expect dramatic reductions in sentencing ranges, including mandatory minimum sentences for violent and repeat offenders.

The definition of “juvenile” will be expanded to cover 24- or 25-year-olds, thus making them eligible for the far more forgiving and lenient options of the juvenile justice system, including allowing adult murderers and violent criminal five-plus years removed from high school to participate in a program that will see them paroled in 25 years or less – no matter what crimes they committed and what sentences they earned. As a reminder of why we treat 18-year-olds as adults for more reasons than just voting for governor and president, Nathan Dunlap (Polis reduced his death sentence in 2020) was 19 when he murdered four innocent Chuck E. Cheese co-workers in cold blood, and the murderer of Kendrick Castillo was 18 when he plotted the murder of 27 STEM school classmates. Adult-level decisions to perpetrate evil of all kinds, even less than murder, are likely to be treated like the decisions of 12-year-olds by the end of the upcoming session.

Speaking of murder, which has seen a historic surge in the metro area, the 2021 offender-friendly legislature and Polis joined a small minority of states in greatly diminishing the consequences for felony murder from a sentence of life without parole to as little as 16 years in prison – on paper. In reality, a killer convicted of such a murder is eligible for parole after a mere eight years. This year, expect the legislature to do the same thing to extreme-indifference murder, making it a parole-eligible murder regardless of the number of victims. The Aurora Theater mass murderer was convicted of 12 counts of extreme-indifference murder.

Coloradans likely did not know that last Tuesday’s political blood bath would result in decreased sentences for actual blood baths.

Attorney General Phil Weiser made the campaign trail proclamation that “(a)fter someone commits a third or fourth car theft in, say, three months, they should be kept in (jail) with a really high bond, because you got a sense they are going to get out they’re going to commit more crimes. …In JeffCo, that’s what they do.” Weiser was not just echoing the spirit of the maligned and withdrawn SB62 legislation he supported mandating the freedom of those accused of committing felonies and who skip court multiple times. He was also announcing the progressive approach to bail. That is to say, there should be none. Look for another effort to expose our communities to more repeat crime by watering down – if not ending – the historically effective and logical practice of keeping the recalcitrant from our neighborhoods, even while pending prosecution. We all but ended jailing offenders during the pandemic and that worked wonders for Colorado’s crime rate – if by “wonders” we mean a devastating spike in crime and victims.

Finally, look for an effort to further demoralize law enforcement and deter vigorous and just prosecution of crime by creating personal financial liability for prosecutors, akin to the bill that has so effectively diminished the ranks, recruiting and efficacy of law enforcement across the state. Were the General Assembly willing to consider the same liability for legislators who pass laws resulting in increased crime, I may just join them.

Ironically, the last line of defense for Coloradans interested in resisting the path toward permissive and unpunished lawlessness is the veto pen of a presidential-minded governor whose pen granted clemency to Colorado’s entire death row, de-felonized fentanyl, permitted the re-arming of convicted felons and created personal financial liability for law enforcement officers.

Oh well, there’s always four years from now.

George Brauchler is the former district attorney for the 18th Judicial District. He also is president of the Advance Colorado Academy, which identifies, trains and connects conservative leaders in Colorado. He hosts The George Brauchler Show on 710KNUS Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Follow him on Twitter: @GeorgeBrauchler.