Late on a Tuesday night at the Colorado Capitol, when testimony and media scrutiny would be light, Democrats in the state House Judiciary Committee passed one of the most offensive, pro-rapist bills in memory. Two Democrat attorney-legislators, Rep. Marc Snyder, who practices in wills, trusts and estate law, and Rep. Javier Mabrey, whose listed law firm name is “COVID 19 Eviction Defense Project,” are sponsors of HB 24-1101. Neither appear to have spent a cup of coffee practicing criminal law, let alone handling challenging and traumatic sex assault (rape) cases.

Nonetheless, they have sponsored HB 24-1101, deceptively entitled “Empowering Victims Through Access to Restorative Justice.” The title is a lie. It is yet another offender-centric bill, this time empowering every type of criminal, including rapists of women and children.

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Current law prohibits “restorative justice” (RJ) for sex assault cases, because it is contrary to the advice of victim advocates everywhere, and is inconsistent with the “best practices” employed by experts in the field. In fact, there is exactly one single empirical study remotely supportive of this risky approach. That 15-year-old study included a mere 22 cases – and not a single one involving child rape.

In theory, restorative justice involves some sort of formal reconciliation between the perpetrator and the victim. Colorado’s statutory definition of what constitutes RJ is so broad as to be nearly limitless. There is no structure or regulation of any aspect of it. There are no licensing requirements for RJ practitioners, no requirement for thorough education or expertise in the area, no screening for suitability for the type of offender (repeat, high-risk, etc) or child victim, nor even the requirement they have a criminal background check. A convicted sex offender could – under this bill – serve as a RJ practitioner. OMG.

Unsurprisingly, rape victims – adults and children – often do not want to ever again have contact with their rapist, to include seeking court orders to never again have contact with them. Mabrey and Snyder do not care. Their bill mandates our Department of Corrections (DOC) notify the victim-survivor of the rapist’s “accountability” letter, regardless of the nature of the offense or even the content of the letter. It could be a poem celebrating their crime, or a letter intended to blame and guilt the victim. DOC “shall” make it available to the victim. And there appears to be no limit to the number of letters the rapist can send.

The bill’s victim-centric title is belied by its offender-centric terms. In a further effort to protect rapists, victim-survivors are required to sign non-disclosure agreements before they can become “empowered” through participation in this dumpster fire of a fraud. 

That means victims cannot even share with their therapist, spouse or anyone on the planet the traumatizing results of their RJ session. The bill provides unchecked, blanket confidentiality for any statements made by the rapist for anything – anything – said during the RJ session. Even confessions to other crimes – like additional rapes or murder or fill in the blank “must not be used as evidence” against the offender. As well, a rapist could use the RJ session as an opportunity to tell the victim how much pleasure they received from sexually assaulting them and how aroused they are at seeing them again – and none of it could ever be used against them. This is what Democrats view as “empowering victims.”

The bill is built to lessen rapist punishment. An offender who “successfully” completes RJ – based on undefined terms – can use that subjective finding to mitigate against their sentence. But the bill prohibits using their failure to complete RJ, or even their refusal to participate in it, against them.

The bill would fund this misadventure by using Offender Services Fund monies currently stretched thin providing treatment for substance abuse and mental health. But who needs those things when a rapist wants to apologize to the child he violated?

It is no wonder Colorado would become the nation’s leader in using RJ for these horrific crimes if this bill passes.

HB 1101 is so misguided, malicious toward victims of serious crimes, and so “empowering” to sex offenders, it should be killed and its sponsors rejected at the ballot box this November. A vote for Mabrey and Snyder is a vote for rapists of women and children. We need legislators who support victims – not their victimizers.

George Brauchler is the former district attorney for the 18th Judicial District and is a candidate for district attorney in the newly created 23rd Judicial District. He has served as an Owens Early Criminal Justice Fellow at the Common Sense Institute. Follow him on Twitter(X): @GeorgeBrauchler.