death penalty
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Colorado justices issue revised opinion in Robert Ray appeal, addressing life without parole sentence
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The Colorado Supreme Court issued a modified decision last week in the appeal of former death row inmate Robert Keith Ray, addressing and rejecting his arguments about the constitutionality of his life sentence. Arapahoe County jurors convicted Ray for the 2005 slayings of Javad Marshall-Fields and Vivian Wolfe. He received a death sentence and remained…
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Robert Ray’s murder convictions upheld despite numerous errors, Colorado Supreme Court rules
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The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday declined to grant a new trial to a man convicted for orchestrating a pair of 20-year-old murders in Aurora, despite identifying numerous errors at his trial. Arapahoe County jurors convicted Robert Keith Ray for the 2005 slayings of Javad Marshall-Fields and Vivian Wolfe. He received a death sentence and…
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A tattoo, the N-word, a different crime: Colorado justices hear appeal of former death row inmate
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Almost 20 years after the murders of a young couple in Aurora, the Colorado Supreme Court heard the appeal of the man convicted of orchestrating the killings and who now alleges numerous errors pervaded his trial. Arapahoe County jurors convicted Robert Keith Ray for the 2005 slayings of Javad Marshall-Fields and Vivian Wolfe. He received…
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Colorado Supreme Court upholds murder convictions of Sir Mario Owens
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The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the 2008 murder convictions of Sir Mario Owens, rejecting a long list of alleged errors in one of the most high-profile criminal cases in recent state history. Arapahoe County jurors previously found Owens guilty of the 2005 murders of Javad Marshall-Fields and Vivian Wolfe in Aurora. Marshall-Fields was…
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Riverbeds, virtual court, sex abuse and more: The Colorado Supreme Court’s biggest decisions of 2022-23 | COVER STORY
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The Colorado Supreme Court this week wrapped up its calendar of oral arguments and weekly releases of decisions until the fall, leaving behind a roster of major rulings and edicts affecting the administration of justice. Chief Justice Brian D. Boatright said at a lawyers-and-judges conference in May that during the past year, the state’s highest court…
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Colorado Supreme Court rules ex-death penalty crimes now eligible for bail
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Three years after Colorado lawmakers repealed the death penalty, the state Supreme Court has clarified that defendants accused of crimes formerly subject to capital punishment are now eligible to be released on bail. The Colorado Constitution generally grants criminal defendants the right to bail pending trial, but carves out an exception for “capital offenses” where…
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Colorado Supreme Court considers whether vestige of death penalty still applies
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On July 1, 2020, Colorado ended the death penalty for the most serious criminal offenses, following a multiyear effort from Democratic lawmakers – with some Republican support – to join 21 other states in abolishing capital punishment. But three years later, Colorado’s death penalty is not completely dead. Last week, the state Supreme Court heard oral arguments…
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Colorado Supreme Court accepts 2 cases on capital punishment, racially-biased juror
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The Colorado Supreme Court agreed to hear two criminal appeals on Monday that question whether defendants are entitled to bail for crimes that formerly qualified for a death sentence, and whether a Black man convicted in an overwhelmingly white county deserves a new trial because one juror admitted he “didn’t want diversity.” At least three…
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Judge criticizes government’s rationale for restrictions on Boston bomber
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The government has provided inadequate explanations for why it is preventing the man convicted of the Boston Marathon bombing from contacting his nieces and nephews by phone or mailing photographs to his family and attorneys, a federal judge determined. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who is responsible for killing four people in April 2013 and is incarcerated at…
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Colorado criminal justice leaders urge Biden to end federal death penalty
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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…
