criminal justice
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Inmates will get $100, 30-day bus pass upon release under this Colorado proposal
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A measure working its way through the Colorado legislature seeks to provide all inmates money, a transit pass and identification upon release from Department of Corrections facilities. Proponents, including former prisoners, said it will reduce recidivism and provide people with the tools necessary to rebuild their lives. The measure, if enacted into law, would cost…
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Colorado House committee advances Democratic bill to reduce penalties for ‘extreme indifference’ murder
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Lawmakers on the Colorado House Judiciary Committee narrowly passed a bill proposing changes to the state’s sentencing guidelines for murders facilitated with “extreme indifference to the value of human life.” Colorado is one of several states with this type of charge, which applies when someone causes another person’s death by doing something they know is…
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Colorado becomes first state to ban arrests solely based on field drug test results
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Colorado has become the first state in the nation to prohibit arrests based solely on colorimetric drug tests, also known as field drug tests. Last legislative session, lawmakers passed a bill establishing a working group to make recommendations regarding the use of colorimetric drug tests in criminal proceedings. Colorimetric drug tests were used in about half of all drug…
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Lawsuit alleges Polis administration is holding juveniles after court‑ordered release
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Colorado officials are facing a lawsuit alleging the state kept minors in juvenile detention for days or months after judges ordered them released, largely because appropriate foster or community placements were not available. Two minors facing juvenile delinquency charges sued Gov. Jared Polis and the director of the state’s Department of Human Services, alleging the…
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Colorado Democrats propose changes to juvenile corrections, jail searches, municipal courts | Bills in brief
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Colorado lawmakers introduce hundreds of bills each year. Bills in brief cuts through the noise by explaining which proposals matter, what’s at stake, and how decisions at the Capitol could affect everyday life across the state. Colorado lawmakers are advancing a slate of bills dealing with crime and corrections this session that would reshape how the state…
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‘Everything happens for a reason’: Veterans Trauma Court aims to help military members in times of need
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Five years after he separated from the Army, Mark Bisset found himself in the Colorado criminal justice system. Bisset’s story started on April 9, 2022. According to past Gazette coverage of the case, the arrest stemmed from an alleged incident in which Bisset rode a four-wheeler to a property in the Indian Creek subdivision in…
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Gov. Jared Polis seeks $12M to house suspects declared incompetent
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Colorado is planning to invest up to $12 million to fund additional commitment beds for individuals declared incompetent to proceed to trial, Gov. Jared Polis has announced. In a recent news conference on the state budget, Polis announced plans to request $8 million to $12 million in general fund dollars for additional civil commitment beds…
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Colorado’s competency backlog costs state millions each year, report finds
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Colorado’s growing competency backlog for criminal defendants is costing the state millions of dollars in fines each year and jeopardizing public safety, according to a new report by the think tank Common Sense Institute. The report, published on Thursday, found that inpatient competency evaluation orders have increased by 600% in the past 25 years, while…
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Weld County Sheriff condemns law that led to release of violent suspect
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Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams says a 2024 law required him to release a man who had been charged with attempted murder stemming from an incident in Greeley earlier this year. According to Reams, 21-year-old Debisa Ephraim was arrested in April and charged with second-degree attempted murder following an altercation between him and another man…
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Colorado expands access to DNA testing after criminal convictions
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A new state law took effect on Sunday, increasing eligibility for people convicted of felonies to receive DNA testing. Before Sunday, only people who are actively incarcerated could receive DNA testing. Now, it’s open to people on felony parole, registered sex offenders, people who have completed their sentences, and people who were found not guilty…