Who is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition?

Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

If you would like to be involved please go to our website and become a member.


Sunday, February 08, 2009

Prosecutor in Tim Masters Case Embarrassed

You have to ask yourself, how many other prosecutors would be embarrassed about their cases.
The Denver Post
FORT COLLINS, Colo.—A former prosecutor in a botched murder case told attorney regulators she was "embarrassed" and called the case leading to the state's first DNA exoneration "frustrating."

Terence Gilmore and Jolene Blair, now judges in the 8th Judicial District, won the conviction of Tim Masters in 1999, 12 years after the Feb. 11, 1987, slaying of Peggy Hettrick.

Masters served nearly 10 years in prison before he was cleared by advanced DNA testing. He was released from prison in January 2008.

Gilmore and Blair in September were disciplined by the Office of Attorney Regulation, an arm of the Colorado Supreme Court, for failing to ensure defense attorneys had all the evidence gathered by police. The two were publicly censured but can still practice law.

The Coloradoan obtained documents and tape recordings of interviews with attorney regulators under Colorado's open records law for a story published Sunday. Both former prosecutors, in separate interviews in May, told regulators they didn't make any of the evidence secret.

Each has declined public comment because Hettrick's slaying remains unsolved and both face a federal lawsuit.

"It's very frustrating to look back on a case you tried 10 years ago and discover that there's all of this information that you never had," Blair said. "Would I have done it differently? Absolutely. I wish I knew now what I didn't know then."

Among the pieces of evidence cited by attorney regulators as not being turned over are hundreds of pages of notes used by a forensic psychologist to form opinions about violent drawings found in Masters' bedroom. Police and prosecutors used this report to buttress their circumstantial case against Masters.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is the pot calling the kettle black. Someone was holding, and aware of the evidence. Just who was it? These two prosecutors, now judges, were educated under the same DA. All too many people in this position of power are involved in unethical practices.
The worst offense is not allowing all the evidence in a case to be evaluated. Every case Gilmore and Blair have been involved with should have review of ALL evidence.

Anonymous said...

Read the Post article. Interestingly Blair was unaware of the evidence, but Gilmore states the defense could have had the 230 pages if they had asked. They are contradicting each other. AND doesn't the law say the prosecution needs to turn over all evidence to the defense. Dig a deeper hole. Please

Anonymous said...

This is part of the problem of all of Colorados government including all the rubber stamp regulation boards which do nothing. Yes, every case these people have been involved in are now tainted.A start to a solution would be to fire the two and disbar them. Yes take a close look at the ethical standards of all the prosecutors are using. Specially the Denver DA's office.djw

Anonymous said...

酒店兼差
酒店打工
酒店經紀
酒店小姐
酒店兼職
酒店上班
禮服店
假日打工
台北酒店經紀
童裝批發
童裝批發
童裝
童裝
酒店喝酒
暑假打工
寒假打工
酒店
酒店經紀人
酒店現領
酒店經紀爆米花
酒店上班PRETTY GIRL

Anonymous said...

One needs to read the Order by the Judge on Gilmore and Blair's Motion to Dismiss and what the Judge found. It is long buy worth reading. Here is the address of the order;

http://www.cod.uscourts.gov/Documents/Judges/Opinions/08-CV-02278-LTB.pdf