We have two more opportunities to repair the damage done by those in power on our ballots this November through Amendment 1 and Proposition 130.

Colorado’s Constitution guarantees bail for all criminal offenses, except where the proof is evident or the presumption is great the crime was capital (potentially death penalty-eligible) murder. In 2020, despite the obvious legal ramifications of doing so, the Democrat-dominated, ACLU-manipulated legislature and Gov. Jared Polis repealed the death penalty under the cover of the COVID pandemic. With no more capital murder charges in Colorado, every single murderer — whether it be of one or 10, of rival gang members or children, motivated by revenge or hatred of someone’s sexual orientation — was eligible for bail. It is still unknown whether Attorney General Phil Weiser provided legal advice to Polis warning him of this predictable outcome.

As a result of Polis and Dem legislators’ actions, the King Soopers mass murderer was given a bond amount. The Club Q mass murderer, had he not pleaded guilty to avoid a federal death penalty, would have been given a bond in his Colorado case.

The need for a fix — which requires amending our state constitution — was so obvious, a bipartisan resolution was finally offered and passed overwhelmingly, sending the proposed amendment to the November ballot. It is called Amendment I.

Stay up to speed: Sign up for daily opinion in your inbox Monday-Friday

Amazingly, it was not unanimous. Five legislators out of Colorado’s 100 voted to maintain bail for cold-blooded murders (including mass murderers). That group included most of the members of the Democrats’ Hugs for Criminals Caucus: extremist Elisabeth Epps, Hamas-celebrant Tim Hernandez and property rights-hating Javier Mabrey. Epps and Hernandez were rejected by primary voters. Mabrey is on the ballot in November. Someone should ask him why mass murderers of minorities should be allowed bail. Alas, he is in a safe-Democrat seat and likely to return in 2025. Buckle up.

A vote (like Mabrey’s) against Amendment I — Concerning Bail Exemptions for First Degree Murder — is a vote to allow bail for child murderers. Vote yes and keep them locked up until they get their day in court. Even the Colorado Democrat Party supports it.

Speaking of bail, there is some troubling data regarding arrests — the precursor to bail.

In most cases, the decision to arrest an alleged criminal is discretionary. It is the product of the policy decisions of elected sheriffs, appointed police chiefs and elected district attorneys.

According to the Colorado Division of Criminal justice, the number of people arrested and booked into jail has not yet reached pre-pandemic levels. Statewide, booking numbers are only 77% of what they were in early 2020. There are noticeable differences between counties in how much they have rebounded. In the five-county metro area, Douglas County outpaces the rest at 86% of early 2020 bookings — above Arapahoe (85%), Adams (75%), Denver (72%) and Jefferson at a mere 63%. Are we seeing the result of politics, or the pragmatic outcome of an underfunded, demoralized law enforcement community that finds it harder to recruit and retain good officers and deputies?

Proposition 130 — Funding for Law Enforcement — is another voter-driven ballot measure that seeks to do what the legislature will not: provide adequate funding to support our efforts to have the best law enforcement officers possible. Without raising a single penny in taxes, the proposition would order the legislature to provide $350 million specifically for “funding for peace officer training and support… and support fund for municipal and county law enforcement agencies to hire and retain peace officers… and a death benefit for a peace officer, police, fire and first responder killed in the line of duty.”

Who would oppose such a well-intentioned and needed change in the law?

Enter the ACLU, who has already invested $50,000 in “Coloradans for Smart Justice” to defeat both this voter-initiated Back the Blue ballot measure, and voter-initiated Proposition 128, Truth in Sentencing, which mandates violent felons serve at least 85% of their earned sentences.

The ACLU has long been the puppet master for criminal justice reform in our Democrat-dominated state government. Their publicly stated goals are untethered to concerns for justice or public safety. They have long opposed police, prosecutors and punishment for offenders. In their 2018 manifesto “Blueprint for Smart Justice,” the ACLU dedicated itself to “cutting the nation’s incarcerated population in half…” — but not by reducing crime by half or deterring repeat offenders. Nope. The ACLU just wants less people sentenced to prison “across the board.”

They proclaimed “without reform” Colorado was set to increase its imprisoned population by 38% by 2024. From the time of their blueprint to last month, Colorado’s prison population has decreased by more than 10%. They decried the 51,775 felony filings in Colorado. Last year, that number was 40,252 — a 22% decrease.

Less cases, less jail, less prison — do you feel safer since 2018? Between 2019 and 2022, crime in Colorado grew by 20% — the highest in the nation.

The ACLU’s “path forward” in 2018 included “decarceration” (less incarceration for less people), decriminalizing non-violent conduct (like theft?) and “shifting funds away from law enforcement….” Unless you agree with the ACLU and what their policies have done to Colorado, vote yes on Proposition 130 and let’s fund the best law enforcement we can.

As you vote for these fixes to legislative errors, ask yourself where we would be if voters lacked the ability to directly weigh in on what our constitution and law should be.

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.