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.


Wednesday, September 08, 2010

9NEWS.com | Denver | Colorado's Online News Leader | Prison director answers questions about escape

9NEWS.com | Denver | Colorado's Online News Leader | Prison director answers questions about escape

STERLING - On Tuesday night, people had the
opportunity to ask Colorado prison officials how an
inmate escaped from a nearby maximum-security
prison.

Douglas Alward, 48, was serving time for attempted
murder when he escaped on Aug. 22. He was found
a few days later near Yuma.

Before answering questions, Ari Zavaras, the
director of prisons for the Colorado Department of
Corrections, said he was disappointed the escape
happened.

One of the questions a lot of people wanted
answered was how Alward escaped.

Zavaras says Alward was able to obtain some
materials to assist in the escape and get over the
walls. He did not elaborate because of security
issues.

Alward was able to get over three fences, including
an electric fence which will deliver an electric shock
when touched, and if touched enough times, can be
lethal.

One Sterling resident was upset the prison did not
notify the nearby campground her family was
staying at.

"I think somebody dropped the ball, because if he
would have been there, he could have easily gone to
the lake, people leave their keys in their car,
whatever. He could have hurt somebody, he could
have stolen a car," Kristi Helbert said.

Zavaras told the crowd, "We apologize for what took
place the night of the escape; the fact that it could
happen, and once again we have made a 100
percent commitment to addressing every issue."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Ari does not want to comment on what went wrong because there are obvious problems with his management of the entire system. When a kid is caught with his hand in the cookie jar, he will not confess.mpc