Fourm Focuses on Colorado's high rate of incarceration

The Coloradoan

Colorado’s incarceration rate is the 18th highest in the nation. And the United States imprisons more people than any other in the world, including Russia, China and Iran. How did we get here?
Christie Donner, executive director and founder of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, with 15 years of experience in criminal justice advocacy, will examine some of the significant policies that have driven the growth of prison population and the parallel growth in Colorado’s Department of Correction’s budget, which in fiscal year 2012-13 has climbed to $737 million. Her talk is open to the public, and there is no admission charge.
The program, sponsored by the Northern Colorado Chapter of the ACLU of Colorado, will be from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Oct. 24 in the meeting room of The Coloradoan, 1300 Riverside Ave., Fort Collins.
Are there more effective and better uses of our tax dollars than prisons, especially for nonviolent offenders? Is it time to re-think “get tough” sentencing? Are private prisons run by the for-profit prison industry an answer?
We invite members of the public to join us in learning more about the critical issue of high rate of incarceration in Colorado and in discussing the various less costly, more effective alternatives now available.