Tag: Criminal Justice
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Audit: Colorado public defender’s office has high workloads, must study staffing
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Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save A large percentage of public defenders are working hours that exceed recommended standards, the state auditor’s office found in a recent report, and corrective measures are needed to ensure adequate representation for the criminally accused. The auditor’s report noted that since its last study of…
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Restrictions on no-knock search warrants pass Colorado legislature
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Three years ago, Breonna Taylor was fatally shot in her Kentucky apartment by police executing a no-knock warrant for her ex-boyfriend. Taylor’s death inspired national outrage and debate on the use of search warrants that allow police to forcibly enter people’s homes without warning. Colorado lawmakers are now tackling the issue with Senate Bill 254. If made…
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Colorado lawmakers target indecent exposure in front of children
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In January 2020, two Larimer County sisters ages 14 and 16 were sitting in a parking lot eating a snack after school when a strange man drove up to them. The man raised his pelvis to his window and exposed his genitals to the girls, masturbating in front of them. The man was immediately apprehended…
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Colorado report explores gaps in services if children can’t be criminally charged until 13
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A task force studying the gaps in services if policymakers raise the minimum age that Colorado children can be charged with crimes released its final report, recommending a slew of changes to mitigate potential impacts. The Pre-Adolescent Task Force was created by House Bill 22-1131, passed by the legislature in June. The bill originally sought…
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Colorado expands access to DNA testing after criminal convictions
Colorado updated its post-conviction DNA testing law for the first time since it was established in 2003, with the signage of House Bill 1034 on Friday. Under the current law, only three people in Colorado have been exonerated of crimes for DNA-related reasons in the last two decades. Beginning on Oct. 1, 2023, the bill will increase eligibility for…
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Lawmakers seek to give child victims, witnesses of crimes anonymity in public records
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Eight months ago, 17-year-old Riley Whitelaw was murdered in the break room of the Colorado Springs Walgreens, where she worked. The horrific details of the crime, allegedly committed by an adult co-worker who Riley had previously complained against, quickly consumed state and national news. In…
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Colorado bill would reduce prison sentences for inmates pursuing higher education
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Colorado has among the worst recidivism rates in the country, with over 50% of people released from prison ending up back behind bars within three years. Lawmakers want to change that with House Bill 1037. If passed into law, the bill would deduct one year from an inmate’s prison sentence for every associate, bachelor’s or…
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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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Bills advance to prevent police lying to minors, expand DNA testing, limit prison restraints
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The House Judiciary Committee advanced a series of bills Tuesday that seek to prevent police from lying to minors, expand post-conviction DNA testing and limit the use of restraints in prisons. If passed by the full state legislature, House Bill 1042 would make any statements…
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Advocates diametrically disagree on imprisonment’s role in response to fentanyl crisis
Fighting through tears, Jessica Chavez recounted before a panel of Colorado lawmakers how her daughter, Yesenia, fatally overdosed in July after taking a fentanyl pill she thought was Percocet. Before her death, Yesi, as her friends called her, had texted her family’s pastor, Chavez told lawmakers. The 21-year-old told him that she wanted “to do…