exoneration
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Appeals judge suggests legislature clarify law providing compensation to exonerated defendants
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A member of Colorado’s second-highest court suggested last month that lawmakers clarify whether defendants are only supposed to be eligible for compensation when they are innocent of the specific crime they were convicted of, even if there is evidence their conduct still amounted to a different crime. In 2013, the legislature passed the Exoneration Act,…
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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…
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Colorado Democrats OK bill to prevent police from lying to minors during interrogations
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After more than a year of trying, Colorado Democrats passed a bill Monday to restrict police from lying to minors during interrogations. If signed into law by the governor, House Bill 1042 would make any statements obtained by juveniles during custodial interrogations inadmissible in court if law enforcement knowingly presented untruthful information to the juvenile during the interrogation…
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House unanimously approves expanding post-conviction DNA testing in Colorado
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Robert “Rider” Dewey spent nearly 18 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Dewey was sentenced to life in prison for the rape and murder of a 19-year-old Palisade woman in 1994. Dewey said he repeatedly requested DNA testing while in prison but was denied for years until connecting with the Innocence Project in…
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Former Alamosa County social worker may be held liable for faulty child abuse conviction, court rules
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A former Alamosa County caseworker may be held liable for the false confession contained in her notes that was used to convict a mother of child abuse, the Denver-based federal appeals court ruled on Thursday. By a 2-1 decision, a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit decided that Marcia Tuggle,…
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House committee advances lump-sum payments bill for the wrongly convicted
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Members of the state House judiciary committee Tuesday voted unanimously in support of a bill that would see state compensation paid in a lump sum to wrongly convicted Coloradans, a change supporters argue helps exonerated prisoners without bank accounts and financial credit adjust to life beyond prison walls. Robert Dewey testified in favor of Senate…
