criminal justice
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Colorado legislature unanimously OKs expansions to witness intimidation law
The Colorado legislature unanimously approved a bill that, if enacted, would expand protections of the state’s witness intimidation law. The state House of Representatives advanced the bipartisan legislation in a final 64-0 vote on Tuesday, following the state Senate’s unanimous vote last month. The bill will now be sent to Gov. Jared Polis for final…
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Senate panel advances bill to automatically seal non-violent criminal records
Harley Blakeman became homeless at the age of 16. His father died and his mother, who was addicted to drugs, pushed young Blakeman onto the streets. By the time he was 19, Blakeman had been arrested multiple times and ended up serving 14 months in prison for a non-violent drug charge. After he was released…
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House panel approves Colorado bill expanding protections of witness intimidation law
Legislation making its way through the Colorado legislature would expand protections of the state’s witness intimidation law. The House Judiciary Committee advanced the bill on Wednesday after the Senate unanimously passed the measure earlier this month. If enacted, Senate Bill 24 would expand the law to cover intimidation that influences a person to withhold information or…
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Senate narrowly OKs bill banning law enforcement from deceiving juveniles
Legislation passed by the Colorado Senate would prohibit law enforcement officials from using deceptive tactics while interrogating suspects younger than 18. The Senate narrowly gave its approval to Senate Bill 23 Thursday in an 18-16 vote that largely fell along party lines. Republican senators voted in opposition while Democrats backed the bill, with one exception: Sen.…
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Bill seeks to divert people with behavioral health disorders out of criminal justice system into treatment
A bill in the Colorado Senate aims to prevent people with mental health issues from entering the criminal justice system and instead send them to treatment centers that can address their psychological needs. A Senate panel unanimously advanced Senate Bill 10 on Thursday, moving it forward to the appropriations committee. If enacted, the bill would expand statewide…
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As crime rates rise in Colorado, restorative justice offers hope
A recent report that details the skyrocketing societal and financial costs of rising crime rates in Colorado, coupled with a 50% recidivism rate – one of the worst in the country – have prompted a warning from leading prosecutors: Well-intended policies that coddle criminals have made life in the state more dangerous. But one philosophy…
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Colorado criminal justice leaders urge Biden to end federal death penalty
Several Colorado criminal justice leaders signed a nationwide bipartisan letter Monday, asking President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to immediately take action to end the federal death penalty in the U.S. The letter was signed by nearly 100 leaders, including Colorado’s Attorney General Phil Weiser, District Attorneys Michael Dougherty and Beth McCann, former District Attorney…
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Brauchler charges governor ‘violated state law’ when he granted pardon to Lima-Marin
George Brauchler, the Republican district attorney for the 18th Judicial District, said Friday night he believes Gov. John Hickenlooper broke the law when he granted a pardon to Rene Lima-Marin, a 38-year-old Aurora man who faces deportation to his native Cuba after a judge freed him earlier this week from a Colorado prison. “The governor…
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Gubernatorial hopefuls castigate, laud Hickenlooper for granting pardon to Lima-Marin
Colorado’s leading gubernatorial candidates mostly reacted along party lines Friday to word that Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, had pardoned Rene Lima-Marin in hopes of heading off plans by immigration officials to deport the Aurora man to Cuba. Democrats Mike Johnston and Cary Kennedy cheered the move, both citing what they termed the governor’s “humanity,”…
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Hickenlooper pardons Rene Lima-Marin in effort to head off deportation to Cuba
Calling it a “question of justice,” Gov. John Hickenlooper on Friday granted a full and unconditional pardon to Rene Lima-Marin, the Aurora man who has faced deportation to Cuba since being freed from prison earlier this week in a spectacular case that caught the attention of the nation. “We were convinced this was the right…