mitch morrissey
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Battle lines drawn as Colorado considers decriminalizing prostitution
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Battle lines have begun to form at the Colorado state Capitol, where legislators are preparing to tackle a proposal to decriminalize prostitution statewide. Proponents said the proposal — which would eliminate the offense of soliciting for prostitution and the prohibition against patronizing a prostitute, as well as preclude local ordinances from banning “commercial sexual activity”…
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Prosecutor struggled with alleged Club Q shooter’s bomb threat case that was dismissed
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Four days before the alleged Club Q shooter was scheduled to go to trial last year on charges of threatening to set off a bomb and become the “next mass killer,” a prosecutor handling the case could not provide key details to the presiding judge over why a key witness might not be available to…
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Plagued by crime, metro Denver is among the worst in America: CSI report
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A new report paints metro Denver as an urban region plagued by rising crime – with numbers that are among the worst in the country. Car theft in Denver is second highest in the nation, and three other Colorado cities rank in the Top 10, according to the Common Sense Institute, a free enterprise think tank. Indeed,…
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10th Circuit says Denver officials did not violate rights of wrongly-convicted man
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A man who spent nearly three decades behind bars before ultimately being acquitted of the charges may not sue the Denver prosecutors and law enforcement officials whose missteps contributed to his wrongful incarceration, the federal appeals court based in Colorado ruled on Tuesday. Clarence Moses-EL received a 48-year prison sentence for the 1987 assault and…
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House judiciary panel tackles sweeping legislative response to fentanyl crisis
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Editor’s note: The House Judiciary Committee this afternoon heard testimony on a sweeping legislation aimed at confronting Colorado’s fentanyl crisis. This story has been updated multiple times. Here’s the latest. Herod can’t attend fentanyl hearing as Joint Budget Committee meets at the same time Rep. Leslie Herod, who was temporarily appointed to the House…
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Advocates for stricter penalties for fentanyl press their case
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A coalition of business leaders and law enforcement officials made the case Monday for making simple possession of fentanyl a felony, one day ahead of a House panel hearing a sweeping bill that seeks to confront Colorado’s opioid crisis. JJ Ament, president and CEO of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, thanked Speaker of the…
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Accused gunman’s writings previewed 2 killings in Denver metro shooting spree
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The man accused of killing five people in the metro area Monday published a trilogy of books detailing similar slayings as part of an extensive, pseudonymous online presence. Denver metro shooting spree suspect ID’d, police announce 5th victim death Police say Lyndon J. McLeod killed five people and injured two more in a shooting rampage…
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As crime rates rise in Colorado, restorative justice model a flash of hope
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A recent report which details the skyrocketing societal and financial costs of rising crime rates in Colorado, coupled with a dismal 50% recidivism rate, which is one of the worst in the country, have prompted a warning from leading prosecutors: Well-intended policies which coddle criminals has made life in the state more dangerous. But one…
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McCann: Sessions’ federal sentencing directive ‘disturbing’
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Denver District Attorney Beth McCann, Breckenridge District Attorney Bruce Brown and Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett are among close to 30 current and former local and state prosecutors to oppose a recent directive from U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions that instructs federal prosecutors to charge, pursue and seek the longest possible sentences for the “most…
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McCann talks about her salary increase, goals for DA’s office
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Denver District Attorney-elect Beth McCann will receive 2 percent salary hikes in each of the last two years of her four-year term, similar to other salary increases given to her metro-area and statewide colleagues under state statutes. Denver City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday, Jan. 3, that set McCann’s incoming salary at $219,606, the current amount…
