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, August 29, 2010

Arapahoe County inmate dead after being found hanging by bedsheet - The Denver Post

Arapahoe County inmate dead after being found hanging by bedsheet - The Denver Post

A 21-year-old Arapahoe County Detention Facility inmate was found hanged by a bedsheet in his cell this morning, only about 40 minutes after he was last seen chatting casually with other inmates, Sheriff Grayson Robinson said.

Jeffrey Wayne Purcella of Aurora died about an hour after a guard on routine morning inspections found him in his single-occupancy cell, according to the Sheriff's Department.

Purcella on July 23 pleaded guilty by reason of insanity to an allegation he attacked a relative in his parent's home in 2008, according to court records.

Purcella had been in the jail since March 2008 on a $50,000 bond on charges of second-degree kidnapping, sexual assault and third-degree assault.

Purcella was housed in general population, and Robinson knew of no problems with Purcella's conduct or behavior in the jail, or any recent behavior to suggest he was a risk to himself.

"Those are some of the things we're investigating, his conversations, we're looking into his recent phone calls, everything," he said. "We're giving it a thorough investigation."

Purcella was found just after 10 a.m. Sunday and was still alive, according to the Sheriff's Department. He died at 11:03 a.m. in the emergency room at Sky Ridge Medical Center in Lone Tree.

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