Posted inNews, Politics and Government

Colorado still allows killers to use gay or transgender “panic” defenses. But the strategy could soon be outlawed.

When Allen Andrade was charged with murdering a transgender woman in 2008, he argued that he killed her in the heat of passion after learning she had male genitalia. Andrade simply snapped, his attorneys said, and shouldn’t be sent to prison for the rest of his life.  In fact, Andrade’s attorneys claimed, he was provoked […]

Posted inCrime and Courts, News, Politics and Government

Colorado poised to revisit murder law that can send people to prison for life — even when they didn’t kill anyone

Jeff Johnson. Lisl Auman. Curtis A. Brooks. All three were convicted of first-degree murder in Colorado, which carries an automatic life sentence without the possibility of parole. None of them killed anyone.  But Colorado’s felony murder law, similar to statutes across the nation, allows for defendants to be charged and found guilty of first-degree murder […]

Posted inCrime and Courts, News, Politics and Government

A new Colorado law makes possessing thousands of fatal fentanyl doses a misdemeanor. Prosecutors are worried.

Colorado’s top federal prosecutor is sounding the alarm over a new state law that potentially makes possessing thousands of fatal doses of synthetic opioids a misdemeanor, saying it sends the wrong message as law enforcement and health officials are warning the public about the substances’ danger.  State lawmakers earlier this year passed a bill that […]

Posted inCrime and Courts, News, Politics and Government

A change to Colorado’s DUI testing system has stoked fears of dropped cases and could shutter a private business

Big questions are swirling around Colorado’s ability to carry out blood tests and prosecute offenders in driving under the influence cases after a policy switch that could jeopardize cases and put a private lab out of business.  The Colorado Bureau of Investigation on July 1 began testing blood drawn during DUI investigations for free in […]