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.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Questions linger about jail death - The Denver Post

The Denver district attorney's decision not to pursue criminal charges against deputies involved in the jailhouse death of a homeless minister looks like a well- reasoned examination of the facts.

But without seeing the video footage that DA Mitch Morrissey so frequently refers to in his assessment, as well as other evidence, it is impossible for anyone else to make an independent judgment.

Nothing short of a full public release of the surveillance video and other material has any chance of answering questions that Booker's family and many in the public have about this tragic event.

Mayor John Hickenlooper issued a statement saying the video would not be released until an internal affairs investigation is complete. Witnesses to the event, which took place more than nine weeks ago, are still being interviewed, he said. The investigation could take months.

Questions about Booker's death already have lingered for months, since the 56-year-old man was taken into custody on July 9 on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia. After getting into a scuffle with a booking deputy and ignoring her orders, deputies shocked him with a Taser, put him in a carotid "sleeper hold" and laid atop him in an effort to get control of him. He later stopped breathing.

The Denver coroner's office ruled Booker's death a homicide, meaning his death was caused by the actions of another person.

Morrissey's review is but one part of the process. In addition, there is the internal affairs investigation, and the sheriff's department, which runs the jail, will examine the events with oversight from the city's independent police monitor.

Morrissey had to decide whether there was evidence to support criminal charges. He contends there is not. But he goes further than that. "In fact, the deputies were justified in using the degree of force used which was reasonable, necessary and appropriate under the specific facts of this case," Morrissey wrote.

We look forward to the internal affairs and disciplinary proceedings on this count because we still find ourselves perplexed about certain details surrounding Booker's death.

For one, the coroner's report clearly says there is no video that shows what went on inside an isolation cell where Booker was ultimately taken.

Reportedly, he was left face down on the floor. His handcuffs were removed because he had stopped resisting, yet an officer kneeled on his back for 90 seconds to two minutes. Why? And when did medical staff check on him? Morrissey's report does not address these points.

Perhaps there is not evidence to criminally charge anyone for Booker's death. But certainly there are many questions that have yet to be answered about the events that unfolded that day in the city's jail.

Another Chance

CS Independent
by Debbie Kelley

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Ginger Courkamp, working at CASA, says she's put her life back together.

Casey Bradley Gent
Ginger Courkamp, working at CASA, says she's put her life back together.

For ex-convicts, getting a job on the outside can be as hard as a cot on the inside.
"They'll violate your parole if you don't find employment, but they don't give you the resources to help you. It's like they set you up to fail," says Shannon Wamser, a 28-year-old former meth addict who served time in federal and state prisons for organized crime and about eight other felony convictions.
But a new program is giving Wamser a shot at something she had nearly given up on: a career.
She's one of 22 local mothers, with convictions ranging from drug possession to assault to theft, enrolled in the Motherhood Program, a statewide effort to help females with criminal histories land jobs.
The Women's Resource Agency, a nonprofit that helps women of all backgrounds achieve economic self-sufficiency, received a $100,000 performance-based grant from the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment to implement the program for six months in El Paso and Teller counties. One agency in Pueblo and eight in the Denver area received funding to start similar programs.
Halfway through, 11 local participants are working as paid interns, and seven have secured full-time jobs. The remaining four are still completing required classes on career readiness. Only one participant has re-offended, serving a 10-day sentence and returning to the program.
"These are not women that will not have issues," says Aubrey Terry, Women's Resource Agency director of support services. "Some haven't worked for five to seven years, and employers have had to deal with some tardiness and absences and things like wearing flip-flops with a nice suit. But with encouragement and support, the women have gotten over their nervousness and, overall, are doing well."

Helpful employers

The women work at hotels, restaurants, real estate offices, law firms and nonprofits such as Court-Appointed Special Advocates, Leadership Pikes Peak and the Center on Fathering.
Care and Share Food Bank for Southern Colorado, which previously has hired ex-offender males, took on three Motherhood Program interns who also receive food from local pantries. They process fresh produce and tend on-site gardens, boosting a new program focusing on local agriculture.
"These women have helped us test our ideas to help us anticipate what types of positions we should be hiring," says Deborah Tuck, Care and Share chief executive. At least one permanent job will evolve out of the intern experiment, she adds.
At Care and Share, other employees have helped solve interns' transportation problems. And throughout the program, interns' wages are subsidized, so employers' only costs are related to direct supervision. When most interns end their terms in October, they'll be armed with impressive credentials, Terry says, and can use services the agency offers for free, out of its Citadel Mall office.
Meanwhile, the seven full-time employees earn an average $11.05 an hour, paid by the employer, says Beth Roalstad, executive director of the agency.
Terry says most of the women had worked before, generally in minimum-wage jobs: "Some had good work histories but got caught up in drugs," she says. "For some, the internship is the longest employment they've had."
Participants have come via El Paso County's Criminal Justice Center, ComCor community corrections, or referral by Fourth Judicial District parole and probation officers.

Route to stability

Ginger Courkamp, 32, a two-time convicted drug felon, says the program has helped her turn her life around and repair her relationship with her 13-year-old daughter. On drugs, Courkamp "lost everything" — her job as assistant director at a day care center, custody of her child, her car, her home.
After several stints in jail, Courkamp has been clean and sober for six months and is interning at CASA.
"This program seems too good to be true — but it is true," Courkamp says. "These people love us for us and see us for us. They understand. They tell us we can do it and want us to show them we can."
Being labeled a felon closes most employment doors, says Wamser, who was hired in July as Estée Lauder's counter manager at Fort Carson's commissary.
"Even if I'd get a job, I'd get fired once they found out my background," says Wamser, who five years ago birthed her daughter while shackled to her prison bed. "Now, I get paid to do something I love."
The link between unemployment and ex-convicts returning to prison has been proven, says Carol Peeples, re-entry coordinator for Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition. She cites a 2006 U.S. Department of Justice attorney general's report that states, "Steady gainful employment is a leading factor in reducing recidivism."
"The fact that you have to answer the question of convictions on job applications keeps a lot of people from getting their foot in the door," Peeples says. "There is a necessity for helping people move beyond their mistakes, because it's costing the state millions of dollars for re-offenders."
The recidivism rate for females released on mandatory parole is 53.7 percent in Colorado, according to the Department of Corrections, and the annual cost of incarceration in Colorado is $32,338 per inmate per year.

Female ex-convicts find a Place to fit in - The Denver Post

WASHINGTON — Sheila Matthews took off her glasses to show me the wicked scar over her left eye.

"Had a patch on it for years. Someone slashed me. It wasn't until I got out of prison that I got it fixed. These people here helped me do it," she said, rolling the fixed eye around to show me how well it works now.

Matthews, 50, showed up two years ago at a tiny office in Washington called Our Place wearing her prison- issue sweats. She used the bus fare the warden gave her to get there, so when she arrived, she officially had zip.

No clothes, no phone, no home, no identification, no paperwork, nothing to prove who she was or who she had once been — a mother, grandmother and preschool teacher.

At that moment, she felt like nothing more than a scarred-up ex-con.

She had been part of a group that is growing at a truly devastating rate. In the past 30 years, the female prison population has grown by 832 percent, according to the Institute of Women in Criminal Justice.

There are about 200,000 women incarcerated in America. Many of them are second-tier, my-boyfriend-was- dealing targets in the war on drugs. Two-thirds of them are mothers.

In most cases, when a man is sentenced, the judge hands the term down, smacks a gavel and moves on.

But when a woman is locked up, there are usually kids involved, and often a judge asks: "Where are they going? Who's going to care for them?" Take Mom out of the picture and, usually, another struggling family takes on another child, or foster care absorbs three more. In most cases, when a woman is locked up, an entire fragile ecosystem collapses.

And one of the things that really gets to Ashley McSwain, the executive director of Our Place, is how these incarcerated women are treated. Not necessarily by the system, but by the people they love.

At a men's facility on visiting day, there is a long line outside, women dressed up pretty, hair done. Mothers are there in their Sunday best. Wives or girlfriends show up with kids on hips, excited to see Daddy.

At women's facilities? "Almost no one," McSwain tells me. Not their husbands or boyfriends. Not their mothers, who often are home taking care of the grandkids. And not the inmates' older children, who usually don't want to step foot in a prison.

"A lot of us just didn't want our kids to see us locked up," said Zandioni Day, 47, who got out a year ago after serving two for a drug conviction.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Marijuana tracking on the way in Colo. - The Denver Post

DENVER—Colorado wants to set up a first-in-the-nation tracking system of medical marijuana purchases to deter people from buying vast amounts of pot and selling it on the black market.

Patients and marijuana advocates fear they will be harassed by a Big Brother-type intrusion as computers and video cameras monitor every ounce of pot sold in the state. Officials are also considering fingerprinting marijuana patients and keeping tabs on pot with radio-frequency devices.

"This is a matter of my functioning daily living," said Diane Bilyeu, a 49-year-old woman who sometimes consumes up to 2 grams of pot in a day to treat her chronic pain since losing her right arm and leg in a 1997 car accident. "Some days I need more or less. I don't know what business it is of the government's."

Officials say the regulations will provide basic protections to ensure that the system isn't being abused by drug dealers and users.

Medical marijuana has been legal in Colorado since 2000, but the recent proliferation of marijuana dispensaries prompted state lawmakers this year to pass a series of new regulations.

It is an issue playing out around the country with 14 states allowing medical marijuana and possibly more to come under November ballot measures.

No state has gone so far to track pot purchases from seed to sale like Colorado is proposing, and regulators say their tracking plans could be a model for other states. Montana lawmakers are expected to consider medical marijuana tracking in that state when they convene next year.

Specifics of Colorado's tracking plans haven't yet been drafted. Regulators say they'll have a plan by January to use video surveillance and a central computer system to flag multiple purchases.

Other ideas include using biometrics to track patients, requiring a fingerprint scan before each sale to make sure the customer matches the marijuana card. They are also considering mandating that medical pot include radio-frequency identification devices, somewhat like coded tags on library books, to keep track of who's getting what.

In addition, tracking could include requiring dispensaries to capture patient driver's licenses on camera to record their purchases.

"It's akin to the protections that are in place for pharmacies, or a wagering line at a horse or dog track," said Matt Cook, the senior director for medical marijuana enforcement for the Colorado Department of Revenue. "You need to maintain the public confidence in what is going on, and the only way to do that is through these systems."

Cook said the state has no clue how much medical marijuana now is ending up on the black market because it lacks central tracking. An unscrupulous buyer could shop at several dispensaries and stock up on large quantities of pot, with no way to notice that Patient X is buying marijuana from multiple businesses.

Cook described a scenario where a patient card is used to buy marijuana several times in one day from dispensaries located far apart. Under the tracking system, the state would be alerted of possible fraud and would notify all dispensaries not to sell to that patient until the state can verify that it is indeed the same person buying all the pot, which would be done through video surveillance soon to be required at pot shops.

But patients are vowing to fight tracking plans. They're especially alarmed that state regulators have yet to issue specifics on how the tracking would work.

"It seems like there could be an ulterior motive here," said Randy James Martinez of Commerce City, 42, who uses medical marijuana for diabetic neuropathy. "Why do they need to keep such close track? Opiate abuse is far more prevalent and far more destructive than any marijuana use or abuse."

A public hearing is planned on the tracking rules in January, but the tracking wouldn't require lawmaker approval because it would be considered an agency regulation.

A marijuana activist who sits on the rulemaking panel, Brian Vicente of Sensible Colorado, said patients and dispensaries fear an onerous intrusion and are still waiting to hear how tracking would work.

"Right now I'd say there's a lot of fear and a lot of confusion out there," Vicente said.

Harsanyi: Waiting for the man - The Denver Post

It's true that California may pass Proposition 19 and become the first state to legalize marijuana. It's also true prohibition isn't going anywhere.

If polls reflect a growing appetite for legalization of marijuana, why is it that so few elected representatives — and by few I mean "none" — of note support it? If the war on drugs is by all metrics a failure, why is there not a single elected official in D.C. working on the terms of surrender?

They're a bunch of gutless weasels, you say? Perhaps. But they're also notoriously sensitive to public sentiment. And even if they opposed the drug war, what incentive do they have to act?

Sure, we can claim that illicit drugs are harmless. But having partaken in youthful "experimentation," I can say with empirical certainty this is untrue. If drugs were harmless, why did I try to convert Pez dispensers into bongs or choose journalism as a career?

To say that drugs are innocuous might be far less ludicrous than nearly anything scaremongering drug warriors contend, but it still makes for terrible politics.

We can argue that no law can stop motivated users from getting stoned. True enough. Rational people understand that demand will be met one way or another. Voters, though, are notoriously irrational. And few elected officials can make the case that lawlessness is a reason to disregard laws — that is, unless they aspire to be former elected officials.

We could argue that legalization won't trigger any increased usage. Yet, we know that casual use would probably increase.

We could argue that legalizing drugs would provide government with a great source of revenue (no worries; the "wealthiest among us" would pay their fair share). But a new Cato Institute study by Harvard economist Jeffrey Miron and Katherine Waldock at NYU finds that there would be a rather unexceptional $17.4 billion in yearly national budgetary improvement from legalizing marijuana.

(For a number of reasons, there would be far more savings if we legalized potent narcotics. Then again, as it's nearly impossible to buy cough medicine without asking a cashier for permission, the prospects of heroin and methamphetamines party samplers remain murky at best.)

Or, we could keep pretending that pot has profound medicinal value. In Denver, a sham medical pot industry has blossomed and coincidentally there have been mass outbreaks of Andromeda Strain and Cooties among 20-somethings. This makes a mockery of real sickness, and threatens to turn one-time public support into deeper skepticism.

Meanwhile, the most honest arguments for legalization are also the most politically unattractive:

If people want to get stoned, it's none of your business. (Now that's a campaign slogan!) If an employer wants to test me, fine. If government wants to bray on about the troika of evil — drugs, cigarettes and Happy Meals — so be it. But the tradeoffs are clear. Today, we're creating international crime syndicates, we're locking up non-violent citizens and we're not altering behavior.

Yet, no matter who's in power, nothing changes. President Barack Obama made little effort to curtail the drug war. The DEA still ignores state law. Conservatives feel a moral obligation to continue prohibition. (Individual freedom ends where your rolling paper begins.)

The minority that wants real reform? Politically speaking, our bad arguments are terrible and our good ones are worse.

For the record, some Colorado candidates have a record - The Denver Post

Bounced checks and bankruptcies. Arrests and restraining orders.

The names of a slew of candidates running for the Colorado legislature can be found in police and court records and other official documents. Some incidents happened decades ago, while others were as recent as this year.

"This is the challenge of having ordinary people running for office," said Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, who is overseeing House Republican candidates and was unaware some had police records.

"Everybody makes mistakes, some more serious than others," McNulty said. "When you have a citizen legislature, you get real people with real problems."

Republican Tom Janich of Brighton, running to unseat Democratic Rep. Judy

Colorado's Election 2010

Election News and Candidate Info

Solano, has been arrested five times, including once for resisting arrest.

"It's my record. I've got to own up to it," he said.

But the 48-year-old said his run-ins with the law happened when he was younger, and he now has a record of public service.

"Heck, if everyone in Adams County who ever drank one too many or smoked a joint would vote for me, I'd win in a landslide," Janich said.

Another legislative candidate with an arrest record is Democratic Rep. Dennis Apuan of Colorado Springs, arrested in 2002 at Peterson Air Force Base during a protest against nuclear weapons.

Republicans are incensed by the arrest, particularly since Apuan's district includes an Army post, Fort Carson. Voters elected him in the Democratic landslide of 2008, but Republicans are stressing his arrest in their attempt to unseat him this election.

"Hey, this is America"

"They've brought it up again and again and again, but it never really gains traction," Apuan said. "Hey, this is America. We have freedom of speech and freedom to peacefully assemble. Social change has come about in the United States through peaceful actions like this."

The Denver Post checked the names of Democratic and Republican legislative candidates against police, court and other government agency files.

Political campaigns have done their own background checks and are sending voters mailers outlining their opponents' pasts.

The constitution says state office can't be held by anyone convicted of "embezzlement of public moneys, bribery, perjury, solicitation of bribery or subornation of perjury."

Most candidates questioned about their backgrounds were extremely candid, even offering up personal court records or going to the courts themselves for information in cases where the charge was available but not details of the case.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

DA: No charges against jail deputies in Booker death - The Denver Post

Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey announced today that no charges will be filed in the death of man at the new Denver jail.

The deputies who subdued Marvin Booker on July 9 were justified in their use of force, he said in a news release.

Booker was a slightly built 56-year-old street preacher who died after being restrained by five sheriff's deputies in the booking area of the Van Cise-Simonet Detention Facility. He had been arrested for alleged possession of drug paraphernalia.

Booker, after disobeying an order about his shoes, was placed in a sleeper or carotid hold on the floor and shocked by a Taser — deputies piled on top of him, according to the coroner's report.

Booker was taken to an

Extras

Read the decision letter by Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey.

isolation cell. An inmate later noticed and told authorities Booker wasn't breathing.

The coroner ruled Aug. 20 Booker's death a homicide.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said in statement that the internal affairs investigation is ongoing.

"The Denver Sheriff Department is investigating the case with the oversight of the Office of Independent Monitor and ultimate review by the Manager of Safety," the statement said. "The deputies involved remain on investigatory leave during the internal affairs investigation.

Booker's family and supporters have been seeking the release of the videotape of his jailhouse death.

Rev. Timothy Tyler, the pastor of Denver's Shorter Community African Methodist Episcopal Church, today asked for the videotape with a letter signed by 500 people. He and a few other AME pastors planned to personally deliver the request to Morrissey's office before the decision on charges was announced.

"The family wants to see the last few minutes of their loved one's life," Tyler said.

He isn't asking for public release to media or even attorneys — only Booker's family would see it, Tyler said. Morrissey has not responded to this specific request, Tyler said, but only repeats there will be no public release.

The statement from Hickenlooper seemed to indicate that might happen.

"We are committed to working with Mr. Booker's family and their attorneys to arrange a private viewing of the jail video," the mayor said. "The video will be made available to the public at the conclusion of the internal affairs investigation and disciplinary process."

Tyler is a friend of the Booker family, which has confronted Denver authorities demanding justice for Marvin. Booker's father, Benjamin Booker, is an elder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

The short letter Tyler delivered read in part: "Though I agree it is important to preserve and protect any evidence that can be used in a potential criminal investigation, I do not believe showing this video exclusively to the immediate members of the Booker family will in any way taint or harm the investigation."

It further states: "As a resident of this community, I believe this action will go a long way in restoring trust in the Denver justice system."

DA: No charges against jail deputies in Booker death - The Denver Post

Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey announced today that no charges will be filed in the death of man at the new Denver jail.

The deputies who subdued Marvin Booker on July 9 were justified in their use of force, he said in a news release.

Booker, after disobeying an order about his shoes, was placed in a sleeper or carotid hold on the floor and shocked by a Taser — deputies piled on top of him, according to the coroner's report.

Booker was taken to an

Extras

Read the decision letter by Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey.

isolation cell. An inmate later noticed and told authorities Booker wasn't breathing.

The coroner ruled Aug. 20 Booker's death a homicide.

Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper said in statement that the internal affairs investigation is ongoing.

Booker's family and supporters have been seeking the release of the videotape of his jailhouse death.

"The family wants to see the last few minutes of their loved one's life," Tyler said.

The statement from Hickenlooper seemed to indicate that might happen.

Tyler is a friend of the Booker family, which has confronted Denver authorities demanding justice for Marvin. Booker's father, Benjamin Booker, is an elder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

It further states: "As a resident of this community, I believe this action will go a long way in restoring trust in the Denver justice system."

Monday, September 27, 2010

Vote 'No' on Proposition 102 | GJSentinel.com

Vote ‘No’ on Proposition 102

By The Daily Sentinel
Monday, September 27, 2010

It’s rare that prosecutors and defense attorneys agree on a proposed legal change that would affect criminal defendants. It’s equally unusual when police chiefs, county sheriffs, victims-rights groups and organizations that advocate on behalf of prisoners all agree on a proposed piece of policy.

But when it comes to Proposition 102 on Colorado’s election ballot this year, all these groups have reached the same conclusion: The state’s voters should reject the measure.

Proposition 102 would effectively shut down pretrial-services programs in all but a few cases.

Ten counties in Colorado, including Mesa, have pretrial-services programs. These 10 counties serve more than 70 percent of the state’s population.

Pretrial services allow judges to let criminal suspects out of jail while they are awaiting trial and assign them to supervision by pretrial-services programs.

Staff members with these programs monitor defendants for drug and alcohol use, make home visits and ensure defendants attend scheduled court hearings. They also provide judges with information about defendants prior to bond hearings, recommending whether a defendant is a good candidate for monitoring by pretrial services.

Bail bondsmen dislike these arrangements because they reduce the number of defendants who might use the bondsmen’s services. Proposition 102 is being financed by national bail-bonds organizations and supported by some local bail bondsmen.

Proposition 102 would allow only first-time offenders charged with nonviolent misdemeanors to use pretrial services.

But those types of defendants are not likely to face large bail — if any. Pretrial services aren’t needed for most of them.

Pretrial services evaluate people facing felony, as well as misdemeanor charges. And there is no evidence to indicate people monitored by pretrial services are any more likely to miss court hearings or commit crimes than those out on bail.

However, if Proposition 102 is passed, it will cost taxpayers an estimated $2.8 million more a year because it will keep people in jail longer while they are awaiting bail, according to the Colorado Legislative Council’s Blue Book.

When the Colorado District Attorneys Council, Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, County Sheriffs of Colorado, Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, victims’ and prisoner advocacy groups all say Proposition 102 is a mistake, Coloradans should listen.

Vote “No” on Proposition 102.

Justice center project begins with names signed in concrete - The Denver Post

Some of those involved in the plan to build a new state justice center in Denver marked the beginning of construction on Monday by signing their names in concrete.

Retiring Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey, who conceived of replacing the aging and overcrowded Colorado State Judicial Building, said the construction project will add 3,300 jobs to the state's economy, 2,000 of them with a direct link to the project and the rest the result of indirect employment.

"When I became chief justice in 1998, this project was only a gleam in my eye," said Mullarkey, who will retire in November.

The Ralph L. Carr Colorado Judicial Center will consolidate the state's judicial and legal agencies in a granite-clad complex that will feature a dome echoing the dome on the nearby state Capitol.

The complex will be state-of-the-art and environmentally friendly, said Gov. Bill Ritter.

The concrete slab that officials signed or initialed will be incorporated into the building, said Bill Mosher, managing director of developer Trammel Crow, the project manager.

Financing for the project, and the relocation of the Colorado History Museum, which shared the site, comes from over $300 million in bonds, the bulk of it in taxable Build America Bonds created under The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Using the bonds resulted in savings of $77 million over typical tax exempt bonds, said State Treasurer Cary Kennedy.

Durango Herald News, Campaigns on bail bond issue run afoul of finance laws

Durango Herald News, Campaigns on bail bond issue run afoul of finance laws
DENVER - Sponsors of a ballot measure on bail bonds have never filed a campaign-finance report despite a large-scale petition drive to put Proposition 102 on the ballot.

In addition, the secretary of state's office could not confirm that one of the sponsors, Mike Paul Donovan, is a registered Colorado voter, although Donovan's co- sponsor, Matthew Duran, insists they both are Colorado voters.

Opponents of Proposition 102 have not registered an official campaign, either.

The issue exposes the inability of Colorado's election laws to make sure Colorado voters know who is for and against the issues they will see on the November ballot. It is the second time this election that a group has managed to place questions before voters without revealing who paid for the campaign.

"Voters should have the right to weigh the credibility of what's on the ballot based on whose interests are at stake, who's funding it," said Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, who has sponsored several campaign-finance bills.

Proposition 102 would ban judges from releasing repeat or violent offenders into pretrial services programs unless they post a monetary bail. Opponents call it a giveaway to bond companies.

"If you are going to come to Colorado and mess with our system, then you should at least have to comply the with the laws of our state," said Stefanie Clarke, a spokeswoman for groups opposed to Proposition 102.

Duran says his opponents are also playing loose with the law.

"It's ironic because our opponents are throwing this out there, and they haven't even set up a campaign committee yet," Duran said.

Indeed, no campaign has registered to oppose Proposition 102. Clarke said the groups that oppose Proposition 102 have not raised or spent money, and she works for the Pretrial Justice Institute. The nonprofit group has a First Amendment right to weigh in on issues, and its lawyer has made sure the group is following the law, she said.

The anti-102 groups have no plans to raise money or advertise, Clarke said.

Duran said he and Donovan paid for the petition campaign, which turned in 170,000 signatures Aug. 2. The official pro-102 campaign, Safe Streets Colorado, did not registered until 24 days later, and it still has not filed a campaign-finance report to disclose its donors to the public.

Friday, September 24, 2010

GO ACLU!! DWCF Ends Demeaning Strip Searches

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 24, 2010
CONTACT: Mark Silverstein, Colorado ACLU Legal Director, 303-777-5482 x114
DENVER – Officials at the Denver Women’s Correctional Facility (DWCF) today implemented a new strip search policy that no longer allows correctional officers to engage in degrading body cavity searches during which they previously had forced prisoners to open their labia and, according to some reports, even to pull back the skin of their clitorises.

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Colorado last month sent a letter to Ari Zavaras, head of the Colorado Department of Corrections, charging that the searches – which occurred even when guards had no particular reason to suspect concealment of contraband – raised grave concerns under the Fourth and Eighth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. In its Aug. 25 letter, the ACLU said that while courts have upheld visual inspections of prisoners, forcing women to hold open their labia for inspection on a routine basis is gratuitous and constitutes unnecessary and wanton infliction of pain and humiliation.

“Officials at DWCF deserve credit for eliminating these degrading searches,” said Mark Silverstein, Legal Director for the ACLU of Colorado. “The U.S. Constitution protects prisoners from having to endure pointless and humiliating treatment.”

In addition to its letter, the ACLU issued an online call-to-action for the public to email Mr. Zavaras and ask him to stop the degrading search policy.

Experts on mental health care in prison have estimated that as many as 80 percent of women who are in jail or prison have been the victims of domestic violence and physical abuse prior to their conviction, a reality that compounds the infliction of pain caused by the needless body cavity searches. The ACLU said in its letter that courts have found that the previous sexual abuse suffered by many female prisoners increases the trauma caused by invasive strip searches and heightens the constitutional violation. Indeed, the ACLU received letters from prisoners at DWCF who complained that being forced to comply with the previous search procedures – which in some cases occurred under the threat of being doused with pepper spray – exacerbated prior sexual trauma.

The ACLU also asserted in its letter that DWCF’s previous procedures could jeopardize the safety of communities across the state of Colorado by undermining the rehabilitation of prisoners and compromising the Colorado Department of Corrections’ stated goal of “assist[ing] offenders’ successful re-entry into society” and “reduc[ing] the likelihood of future victims.” The ACLU’s letter charged that prisoners had refused visits from friends and family in order to avoid post-visit searches.

“These searches had a devastating impact on prisoners and threatened to undermine rehabilitation,” said David Shapiro,” staff attorney with the ACLU National Prison Project. “We will remain vigilant and in contact with DWCF prisoners to ensure that the new procedures are implemented properly.”

Masters pushing to unseat judges who prosecuted him - The Denver Post

Tim Masters hasn't said much about the two former prosecutors who worked hard to convict him of the 1987 Fort Collins slaying of Peggy Hettrick.

But he recently decided to let his opinions be known through his wallet. Masters and his defenders are bankrolling a group hoping to block the retention of Larimer County District Judges Jolene Blair and Terry Gilmore.

In August, Masters contributed $2,000 to the Committee for Judicial Justice. As of Sept. 15, the most recent campaign-finance report deadline, the Committee for Judicial Justice had raised $5,606 in the effort to vote Blair and Gilmore out of office.

Blair and Gilmore were the prosecutors who tried Masters in 1999 for the Hettrick murder. A jury convicted Masters, and he spent 10 years behind bars before new DNA evidence pointed to other suspects in the killing. Masters was released from prison in 2008.

Blair and Gilmore were censured by the state Supreme Court's presiding disciplinary judge for not providing potential evidence that could have helped Masters.

Masters, who won a $10 million settlement from the city of Fort Collins and Larimer County, also gave the group $1,000 after the Sept. 15 report deadline, bringing his total contribution to the campaign to $3,000, said attorney Troy Krenning, a member of the Judicial Justice board.

Masters couldn't be reached for comment Thursday. Blair and Gilmore declined to comment. A review of Judicial Justice's campaign finance reports noting contributions by Masters and his legal team was first reported by State Bill Colorado.

Krenning said Masters could have given more to Judicial Justice, but that's not his style.

"He's got enough money he could bankroll this entire effort and to ensure these two wouldn't be retained," said Krenning, a Fort Collins police detective at the time of the Hettrick investigation. "But he doesn't want this to be a Tim Masters vs. Blair and Gilmore."

Masters' innocence

Krenning, who has steadfastly maintained Masters' innocence, also gave $1,000 to Judicial Justice. Greeley attorney Maria Liu, who worked on Masters' appeal, gave $2,000 on Sept. 7. Erik Fischer, who worked on Masters' defense team in 1999, gave $500 to Judicial Justice on Sept. 7, according to the secretary of state's office.

In August, Judicial Justice registered as a 527 political organization, so it is allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money. But the group cannot tell voters how to vote, said Rich Coolidge, spokesman for the secretary of state's office.

Judicial Justice's website gives visitors the following message: "Remember Tim Masters: No on Judges Blair & Gilmore."

Signs and stickers

The group's most recent filings showed it spent about $5,500 during the reporting period, mostly for yard signs, bumper stickers and a billboard north of Fort Collins.

"Our coverage is still kind of spotty, but we are working hard to get the word out," said Sandy Lemberg, the head of Judicial Justice.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers this week said new DNA evidence has been uncovered in the Hettrick case but wouldn't say whose DNA was found.

Masters, though out of prison, has not been exonerated in the murder.

In August, Blair and Gilmore were unanimously recommended for retention by the Larimer County Judicial Performance Commission. The group acknowledged the controversy over Masters' conviction but said the community would be well served by retaining them as judges.

Krenning said he has known Blair and Gilmore for many years. But he said he wants to unseat them because there has been little or no accountability in the case.

"Not one person involved directly or indirectly in this case has ever uttered the words 'I'm sorry,' " Krenning said.

Weighing the cost of justice - The Denver Post

As state lawmakers around the country struggle to balance their budgets, the criminal justice system is becoming a target for cuts.

The state of Missouri, for example, recently started informing judges just how much their sentences will affect the public coffers.

Three years of prison? That will cost taxpayers $37,000, while probation would ring up just a $6,770 bill.

The idea of putting a specific price tag on justice, and dangling it in front of judges as they mete out punishment, makes us uncomfortable.

It's not because we think it's wrong to figure out ways of trimming court and prison costs. But we think judges ought to impose appropriate sentences without regard to cost. The financial questions ought to be considered, but that should be the job of legislators, who can adjust penalty statutes to take prison population trends and social mores into account.

Missouri's program, detailed in a recent New York Times article, soon may be up for discussion in Colorado. We're told the staff of the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice took notice of that Times piece and plans to circulate the article to commissioners as they look for ways to reform the state's sentencing laws to save costs.

The commission has other goals as well, but modifying sentencing laws to reduce prison populations — and the huge costs associated with keeping people behind bars — is certainly on their agenda.

The balance to be struck on this issue, as well as others the commission has considered, is whether proposed efficiencies would compromise the just operation of the system.

"They don't want to do that at the cost of justice," said Lance Clem, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Public Safety.

In Missouri, the information provided to judges comes at the direction of the state's sentencing advisory commission.

It's the only state in the union that routinely tells judges the cost of the sentences they are considering. As one might imagine, the practice has prompted some divergent opinions.

Some believe it is part and parcel of the fiscally conscious times we live in. Everything has a price tag, and that ought to be a part of the equation.

Others, and we find ourselves among them, aren't so sure it's proper to put that burden on judges. We're reasonably sure judges have a general idea of the cost of incarceration versus alternative sentences.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Judge denies first effort to dismiss pot charge - The Denver Post

A federal judge has declined to dismiss the case against a Highlands Ranch medical-marijuana grower who argued that medical marijuana is fundamentally different from the marijuana prohibited by federal law.

Federal District Court Judge Philip Brimmer this morning said that granting the dismissal motion would make him, in effect, a "super legislature" deciding the wisdom of Congress's policy decisions.

The motion was the first one heard on what will be a critical day in the federal case against Christopher Bartkowicz, who was arrested and charged with federal drug cultivation crimes after giving an interview to 9News in February in which he described the medical-marijuana-growing operation he ran from his suburban home. If convicted, Bartkowicz could face up to life in prison.

Bartkowicz's lawyer, Joseph Saint-Veltri, has filed a sweeping motion to dismiss the case and arguing, among other things, that federal law should not trump the Colorado Constitutional amendment authorizing medical marijuana. He will also argue that an October 2009 Justice Department memo instructing federal prosecutors not to target people in "clear and unambiguous compliance" with state medical-marijuana laws should have provided Bartkowicz with legal shelter.

Federal courts nationally have taken a dim view of medical defenses to marijuana charges, but the issues have never been argued so robustly in a case in Colorado. While today's hearing will not decide whether Bartkowicz can raise a medical defense at trial, it will provide a glimpse at the extent to which Brimmer will allow such unconventional arguments.

This morning, Saint-Veltri said it would be irrational to put medical-marijuana and criminal marijuana under the same heading. Marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance, a heading that means the federal government considers it to have no accepted medical benefit.

Denver partygoer's lawsuit says he was "tortured" by cop - The Denver Post

A federal lawsuit filed this week alleges a female Denver police officer responding to a loud music complaint "tortured" a 23-year-old man and trashed a group of partygoers' cellphones after they recorded her actions.

The officer, Abbegayle Dorn, has had a high profile as a professional fitness model and a 2008 contestant on the TV show "American Gladiator."

The suit, reported by KCNC News4, targets Dorn, two male officers the plaintiff did not know and the Denver Police Department. It's the latest in a series of brutality claims against the department.

The city attorney's office reported this month that the city had paid out nearly $6.2 million since 2004 to settle lawsuits involving police officers. Almost all of them involved allegations of excessive force.

In the suit filed Tuesday, Rohit Mukherjee also said an unidentified officer at the Denver County Jail referred to him as a "(expletive) Arab."

Mukherjee is of Indian descent.

The suit alleges police violated Mukherjee's Fourth Amendment rights with an unlawful arrest.

The suit also alleges he was "tortured" by police despite giving no resistance other than to cry out in pain.

Mukherjee was celebrating with nine friends in his 17th Street apartment April 10 before he was to leave for a business apprenticeship in India.

His attorney, Alan Molk, would not comment on the suit, except to say Dorn's gender was not a factor.

"It doesn't make any difference whatsoever that she's a woman," he said. "A police officer has the same duties and responsibilities, regardless of gender."

Police spokesman Lt. Matt Murray said an investigation into the accusations against Dorn and other officers is underway, and he cannot comment as a matter of standard procedure.

The suit claims that when Dorn and the two male officers came to Mukherjee's door shortly before midnight April 10, he hesitated before stepping into the hallway, prompting a male officer to force open the door, and Dorn pinned Mukherjee's neck against it.

Monday, September 20, 2010

New DNA evidence found in Hettrick case - The Denver Post

Investigators have found new DNA evidence in the murder of Peggy Hettrick, a case that was considered closed until genetic evidence freed a man who spent 10 years in prison, according to Colorado Attorney General John Suthers.

The "touch DNA" tests weren't available in the late 1990s. Timothy Masters was convicted of murder in Hettrick's death in 1999, but his conviction was overturned in 2008 after defense lawyers used advanced DNA testing to uncover evidence suggesting a different suspect.

The new evidence was taken from Hettrick's clothing.

"We have done 'touch DNA,' and I think it has moved the ball forward. We will know more in the future," Suthers said.

He wouldn't say whose DNA was found or identify

Masters has not been exonerated in the case and remains a suspect.

"While we are not in a position to exonerate Tim at this time, I emphasize that he is presumed innocent and is no more a suspect than a variety of other people," Suthers said.

Masters, who was 15 when Het trick's mutilated body was found in a Fort Collins field in 1987, couldn't be reached for comment Sunday.

Masters told the Coloradoan on Friday that he is waiting to be formally exonerated by the investigation.

"Until they come out and exonerate me, I flat-out won't talk to the guys," he told the newspaper, which published a story Sunday.

Suthers said he has no timetable for the case.

"We are moving as quickly as we can," he said. "We have interviewed dozens of people."

The attorney general's office has spent about $100,000 on the DNA work, done by a Dutch company, Independent Forensic Services, Suthers said. The company also found the touch-DNA evidence that freed Masters.

Masters' attorneys discovered that prosecutors and Detective Jim Broderick concealed evidence that would have aided Masters at his trial.

At the request of District Attorney Larry Abrahamson, Gov. Bill Ritter asked the attorney general to take over the Hettrick investigation.

Larimer County and the city of Fort Collins agreed earlier this year to pay $10 million to settle a federal civil-rights suit filed by Masters, who alleged detectives and prosecutors maliciously targeted him and destroyed or withheld evidence that could have cleared him.

Broderick has been indicted on eight felony perjury counts. He has denied wrongdoing.

The two lead prosecutors who tried Masters, Jolene Blair and Terry Gilmore, agreed in 2008 to censures by the state Supreme Court, which said they "failed to act with reasonable diligence" in carrying out their duties. Both are now district court judges up for retention elections in November.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Amid concern over discipline, Denver police did fewer investigations on own this August - The Denver Post

Denver police officers have reduced the number of investigations they initiate on their own, a slowdown some attribute to unhappiness over a move toward stricter discipline of cops in trouble.

In the month of August, when Safety Manager Ron Perea resigned under fire for what were perceived as lenient discipline decisions, officer-initiated investigations dropped by nearly 25 percent from August a year ago, a decline of nearly 4,500 incidents, according to Police Department data.

In the last week of that month, as the controversy over a police beating captured on video became more intense, such police activity was down nearly 33 percent from the number recorded a year earlier.

The drops can't be explained by a crime wave that would have left officers with less free time. Citizen-initiated calls for help actually declined slightly from a year earlier, meaning officers should have had more time — not less — to start investigations on their own.

"I've heard from officers that there is concern about the complexity of the discipline process and the fact that some investigations have been reopened," Police Chief Gerry Whitman said. "I can see why the officers would have anxiety, but they are still out there doing a great job."

Like most large agencies, Denver police track the number of incidents they handle by categorizing them. Some are prompted by citizen calls to 911. Others are called "Type 2" — initiated by officers, often in patrol, who make a traffic stop, or see a broken window, a fight in progress or something else that seems amiss.

Why the activity matters

The decline in officer-initiated actions should prompt concern, said George Kelling, a nationally recognized crime-fighting strategist who in 2006 advised Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper on a data-driven overhaul of the city's police force.

"You want a high level of self-initiated police activity for people doing minor (criminal) activity," said Kelling, whom former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani credits with coming up with tactics that drove down crime in New York in the 1990s. "When you cease to do that, you send out the message that you don't care. The theory is that people will then carry out more and more minor criminal activity and more major criminal activity as well."

In August, a public outcry developed over Perea's decision to keep on the force two officers accused of covering up the beating of a 23-year-old man.

Perea originally found that the officers made inaccurate statements on their official reports and suspended each without pay for three days. But even after viewing a video made by a surveillance camera that appears to show the citizen doing nothing more than using his cellphone before an officer throws him to the ground, Perea found no excessive force by the officers. Perea said it was reasonable to conclude the officers feared the man was trying to strike one of the them.

After the video became public, the Police Department reopened the investigation following intense criticism from activists and community leaders. Mayor John Hickenlooper asked the FBI to review the case, an investigation that remains underway.

Perea's refusal to fire another officer accused of handcuffing and brutalizing a man who had complained that the officer was being lazy for failing to investigate a crime also generated controversy later in August.

On Aug. 23, Perea rescinded his discipline decision in that second case and resigned the same day. A final decision on what will happen to that officer still is pending from the new acting safety manager, Mary Malatesta, who oversees the city's Police Department.

Cops protecting themselves

Although reluctant to discuss the situation publicly because their collective-bargaining agreements prohibit officers from initiating a work slowdown, police privately say the reversals in those two cases have made them less likely to take proactive crime-fighting action.

Saturday, September 18, 2010

9NEWS.com | Denver | Colorado's Online News Leader | New 'haven' for babies in Denver

9NEWS.com | Denver | Colorado's Online News Leader | New 'haven' for babies in Denver
DENVER - On Monday, lots of mothers and babies
came out for the groundbreaking for the new Baby
Haven daycare facility, and when finished, it will be
the first of its kind in Colorado.

The new daycare facility will allow mothers
recovering from drugs and alcohol to stay with their
children.

Baby Haven will be a new addition to Haven House,
an 89-bed therapy center for women, mothers and
their babies.

Heather Depew has been getting help for her
methamphetamine addiction at Haven House, and
says the Baby Haven will enable more mothers like
her to get treatment.

"This is awesome. The whole building of the new
Baby Haven opens a lot of opportunities that weren't
available before. The fact that our children will be
able to stay with us until they are three is awesome,"
Depew said.

Licensed by the Colorado Alcohol and Drug Abuse
Division (ADAD), Haven House offers long-term,
intensive treatment for clients with addictions.

Officials say, the expansion allows the program to
meet growing needs in areas of parenting education
and child care.

9NEWS.com | Denver | Colorado's Online News Leader | Inmate transforms white prison walls into works of art

9NEWS.com | Denver | Colorado's Online News Leader | Inmate transforms white prison walls into works of art
VIEW SLIDESHOW
STERLING - For most of the nearly 25 years he's
been in prison, Michael Wentz stared at blank,
seemingly endless white walls that promised to run
as long as his prison sentence. His most recent stint
at the Sterling Correctional Facility has given him
the opportunity to change that.

"I kept thinking, 'Man, it'd be nice to liven something
up,'" said Wentz, who has now created almost 15 l
arge-scale murals on some of the walls covering
the 850,000-square-foot prison. "I'm fascinated
with the way I can create something out of nothing. I
can take a blank wall and put something up there
that can invoke some type of emotion or reaction
from other people."

DA opposes vote urged by bondsmen | GJSentinel.com

The practice of courts assigning defendants to pretrial services, such as the program Mesa County operates, is hurting the bail-bond business, area bondsmen said.

That’s why they’re backing Proposition 102, a measure on this fall’s ballot to curb what kind of defendants are allowed pretrial services, which are designed to make sure defendants attend their scheduled court appearance and monitor them to ensure that they do.

“It’s another good example of government taking over private enterprise,” said Bob Cunningham, who has run a local bail-bonding company in Grand Junction for 17 years. “Bail bonding is a system that’s worked for 200 years.”

Beyond the bond workers, though, prosecutors, defense attorneys and others in the court system are opposing Proposition 102.

The ballot question would limit when courts can assign defendants to pretrial services, rather than requiring them to post bonds. Ten pretrial services operate in the state, with Mesa County’s program the only one outside the Front Range.

Under the amendment, only those defendants facing misdemeanor charges, and then only the first time, could be referred to pretrial services.

Approving it, however, would endanger the public and cost taxpayers more money, Mesa County District Attorney Pete Hautzinger said.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Denver has spent nearly $6.2 million since 2004 to settle suits against police - The Denver Post

The city of Denver has spent nearly $6.2 million since 2004 to settle lawsuits involving police officers, and nearly all of the payouts were for allegations of excessive force.

City Attorney David Fine revealed those details Tuesday in a report to a City Council committee.

Council members had asked Fine to research litigation patterns after controversy erupted last month over a video that showed an officer beating a 23-year-old man who was talking on a cellphone.

The report did not compare Denver's police litigation payouts with other cities.

Since 2004, the average settlement in Denver for an excessive-force claim was about $97,000. The city paid nearly $3 million to settle three lawsuits, pushing the average up. In all, the city paid out $5 million in settlements for excessive force since 2004.

The city attorney's office has handled 63 excessive-force lawsuits against police since 2004, ranging from a high of 16 last year to a low of six in 2007.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Death Penalty Remains Option

Pueblo Chieftain

DENVER — A Douglas County district judge on Friday denied a request by the confessed killer of a prison guard to remove prosecutors and end pursuit of the death penalty.

Edward Montour Jr., 43, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the Oct. 18, 2002, beating death of Pueblo native Eric Autobee, 23. At the time, Montour was serving a life sentence without possibility of parole for the murder of his infant daughter.

Autobee was a sergeant assigned to the kitchen of Limon Correctional Facility when Montour attacked him with a 9-pound, 4-foot-long metal ladle.

Montour originally was sentenced to death by a district judge, but the Colorado Supreme Court subsequently ruled that only juries could impose the death penalty, so Montour’s sentence was commuted to life without parole.

Prosecutors from Colorado’s 18th Judicial District, encompassing Jefferson and Gilpin counties, again are seeking the death penalty for Montour.

Montour asked District Judge Richard Caschette to dismiss the capital proceeding against him or disqualify 18th Judicial District prosecutors from his case on grounds that he was denied due process because the prosecution stood to gain financially as an office and individually.

The basis for the defense argument was funds provided to the prosecution by the Colorado Department of Corrections in 2003 and 2007 totaling more than $137,000.

Thursday, September 09, 2010

City: Arvada cops had questionable records - The Denver Post

Three former Arvada police officers who were charged criminally in an excessive force case Wednesday have acted in legally questionable ways in the past, prompting the city to pay out $430,000 in lawsuit settlements the past two years.

Officer Charles Humphrey, 31, allegedly punched a handcuffed Kelly Etheridge, 27, in the face during an arrest in January, after Etheridge spit on him. Other officers helped cover it up, according to the charges against them.

"I just went to spit and he walked right into it, claiming I spit on him on purpose, which was an accident," Etheridge said. "He turned me around like that and -bam- hit me in the face and then slammed me into the cop car, while I was handcuffed."

Humphrey was charged with four misdemeanors: third-degree assault, failure in duty to report use of force by a peace officer, first-degree official misconduct and false reporting. All the counts are misdemeanors.

Whitney Bauma, 29, and Noah Rolfing, 28, were each charged with three misdemeanors: failure in duty to report use of force by a peace officer, official misconduct and false reporting..

Other officers allegedly did not report Humphrey's punch. Instead they said Etheridge's injuries were from a fight with his girlfriend, which was why police had been called.

City officials said today they have paid out two lawsuits "related to some of the officers in question" in the Etheridge case.

In 2008 several Arvada officers were accused of illegal entry and excessive force in response to a noise complaint. The city settled out of court for $100,000.

Last year, the city paid out $330,000 after officers entered an apartment looking for a suspect, then forced another man staying there into a hospital after he provided nonsensical, uncooperative answers to their questions, according to the suit.

Bell Policy: Prop 102 Creates an Unjust System

Published on The Bell Policy Center (http://bellpolicy.org)

Home > Proposition 102 would create an unjust system

Proposition 102 would create an unjust system

Proposition 102, a ballot initiative designed to limit pretrial services programs for defendants, will come before Colorado voters on Nov. 2.

If passed, many low-income defendants will be denied release on an unsecured bond, leaving them with no option besides awaiting trial in jail. This would unnecessarily drive up costs and crowd local jails with defendants – many of whom will not even be sentenced to jail if convicted.

This initiative has received much of its support from the commercial bail bond industry, which has argued that the initiative will result in fewer tax dollars spent on pretrial services programs, safer communities and a greater guarantee that defendants will appear in court.

What's not said is that the bail bond industry stands to gain from Prop 102 because of the dramatic increase in the number of defendants who must use their services to be released from jail before trial.

Low-income defendants would be disproportionately harmed because they often cannot post bond, and in many cases, it is not profitable for bail bond companies to deal with them. Therefore, we believe Proposition 102 would create an unjust system where poorer defendants would await trial in jail while wealthier defendants would be released on bond for similar crimes.

Currently, many defendants qualify for release to a pretrial services program with an unsecured bond. These programs assess defendants and their cases and make recommendations to the court regarding the defendant's risk to public safety and the likelihood of the defendant appearing in court. The court then uses these recommendations to release defendants deemed low-risk, in some cases providing community-based supervision, drug testing and substance-abuse treatment.

Proposition 102 would rework the bail system, prohibiting the release of a defendant to a pretrial services program on an unsecured bond unless the charge is for a first offense that is a non-violent misdemeanor. The likely outcome would be far more people held in jail awaiting trial, driving up costs for local jails by an estimated $2.8 million a year*, and possibly creating a need for more jail beds.

Opposition to Proposition 102 is just beginning to form and is likely to include representatives of law enforcement, district attorneys, defense attorneys, criminal justice reform organizations and victim advocates.

The Bell Policy Center opposes this proposition. Proponents tout public safety, but we think that is a smokescreen to hide the real intent – to enrich the bail bond industry. The restrictions would harm mostly low-income people, prohibiting them from caring for their families and keeping them from work.

We believe pretrial services programs have worked effectively. They are not broken; they don't need this fix.

* Estimate from Colorado Legislative Council Staff.

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