Cold Cases Vs. The Death Penalty

Hazel Brewer would rather Colorado spend money tracking down the person who slit her daughter's throat than on costly prosecution to send killers to the death chamber.

She is among a few hundred people, all tormented by unsolved murders, pushing Colorado to look toward an unexpected funding source to solve cold cases - abolishing the death penalty.

The murder of Brewer's daughter, Rhonda Holland, at her Littleton gift shop four years ago is one of about 1,200 unsolved homicides in Colorado. The number grows by 40 to 60 every year as law officers file away old murder cases to catch the latest criminal.

"After a while, everyone wants you to forget and get on with life and shut up about it," said Brewer, who at 75 still runs a gift shop to keep from thinking about an unpunished murderer. "We still remember."

The Denver Post