By Emily Tofte Nestaval

In Colorado, we have long held a simple, but absolute truth: every human life has equal value under the law. It is a principle that grounds our legal system, supports victims and their families, and reinforces public trust. House Bill 26-1281 threatens to dismantle that very foundation.

As a nonprofit law firm serving crime victims across the state, Rocky Mountain Victim Law Center has spent the past 16 years working alongside thousands of Colorado victims navigating the aftermath of violence. This includes many families who have lost loved ones to the unimaginable crime of homicide. We have seen firsthand the grief of these families, and the importance of a legal system that treats their loved ones’ lives with dignity and respect.

HB26-1281 would move Colorado in the opposite direction.
As written, the bill creates a framework where the severity of extreme indifference homicide charges is determined not by the actions of the offender, but by arbitrary characteristics of the victim or random circumstances of the crime. In practice, this means two lives lost in the same act of violence could be valued differently under the law.

Consider what this would look like. In a school shooting, the death of an 11-year-old child could be charged as first-degree murder, but if their 12-year-old classmate was killed instead, it would be classified as second-degree murder. Or, in a mass shooting, whether a case rises to first-degree murder would depend not on the intent or actions of the shooter, but on how many victims were killed or injured. The loss of one life would carry a lesser charge and penalty than the loss of multiple lives, for the same conduct. The profession of a victim could also determine the level of accountability, elevating some victims, like first responders, while diminishing others, like teachers, simply due to their chosen profession.

No family should ever have to hear the value of their loved one’s life depends on factors like these. These are not distinctions rooted in justice, logic, or victims’ rights.

Since 1992, the Colorado’s Victim Rights Act has made clear victims are entitled to fairness, respect and dignity. These rights are to be honored as vigorously as those of defendants. Central to that promise is the understanding every victim matters equally. HB26-1281 is fundamentally inconsistent with that commitment.

The concept of “extreme indifference” homicide has historically reflected a disregard for human life as a whole, not on a calculation of the value of different individual lives. Shifting that framework to create levels of value among victims erodes the moral clarity the law is meant to uphold.
This is particularly concerning in a state that has endured far too many mass tragedies and school shootings. When these horrific events occur, the legal system needs every available tool to hold offenders fully accountable and to ensure justice is served. Limiting those tools and tying them to arbitrary distinctions among victims does not strengthen our legal system; it severely weakens it.

Colorado has a strong history of standing with victims, and we must continue that tradition by rejecting policies that diminish the value of any life.
Every victim, every family, every tragic loss of life matters equally. Our laws must unambiguously reflect this. HB26-1281 must be rejected to ensure all lives of Coloradans are valued equally.

Emily Tofte Nestaval, MSW, is executive director of the Rocky Mountain Victim Law Center.