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.


Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Denver mayor wants quick resolution in probe of jail death - The Denver Post

Denver mayor wants quick resolution in probe of jail death - The Denver Post

Recently sworn-in Denver Mayor Guillermo "Bill" Vidal said he is pushing for quick resolution of the investigation into the July jailhouse death of inmate Marvin Booker.

"This is high-priority for us," Vidal said after Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. Marade. "The longer we take, the answer won't feel right because it took so long."

Moments before the march, former Mayor Wellington Webb called for a quick resolution in the Booker case before activists shouted at city officials to complete the investigation.

Vidal said he would like to see a resolution before his term ends in July.

Booker, 56, was jailed on charges of possession of drug paraphernalia. After he got into a scuffle with a booking deputy and ignored her orders, deputies shocked him with a Taser, put him in a carotid "sleeper hold" and lay atop him in an effort to control him. He later stopped breathing.

The coroner's office ruled that his death was a homicide. Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey refused to charge the deputies, who remain on paid leave.

The case is under internal investigation by the sheriff's office with oversight from the Office of Independent Monitor and final review by the manager of safety.

A surveillance tape that shows the altercation that led to Booker's death has not been released because it is part of the investigation.


Read more: Denver mayor wants quick resolution in probe of jail death - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_17122678#ixzz1BOBiTQTj
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