criminal justice
Opinion: Denver is late, and lacking, with its new program for reviewing unjust convictions
It sets the bar too high and doesn’t include community input
Colorado lawmakers are rethinking a 2019 law that made possessing thousands of lethal fentanyl doses a misdemeanor
The 2019 passage of House Bill 1263, which had bipartisan support, made possession of up to 4 grams of almost all drugs for personal use a misdemeanor
Aurora police officers disapprove of chief committed to reform, poll shows
Members of the Aurora Police Department’s two labor unions, the Aurora Police Association and the local chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police, voted in a poll this week that asked, “Do you feel confident in the leadership of Chief Vanessa Wilson?"
Colorado effort to limit arrests for low-level criminal offenses dies in statehouse committee
This is the second version of the legislation, which would have limited arrests for low-level offenses, to be rejected this year.
Opinion: A notable example of how our justice system suffers from underfunding. And it’s victims who suffer the most.
If different victims receive different justice based on their different geographic, socioeconomic, racial or sexual identity status, then that is not justice.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin found guilty of murder and manslaughter in death of George Floyd
The jury reached its verdict Tuesday after deliberating about 10 hours over two days
How a rural Colorado traffic stop left a man dead and a sheriff’s deputy facing criminal charges
In the 11 months since Zach Gifford, the unarmed passenger in a car pulled over for a traffic violation, was shot and killed by Kiowa County Sheriff's officers, charges have been filed against a deputy. But his family and friends still have unanswered questions.
“My dinner is on the line”: Colorado Supreme Court rules it was OK for judge’s wife to sit on jury
Adams County District Judge Judge Thomas R. Ensor joked with attorneys in the trial to “be nice to Juror 25” -- his wife -- because dinner was on the line.
Day and night: Organizers of Denver protests say mayhem after dark is muddying their message
The daytime protests over George Floyd’s death have provided a space to collectively mourn and rally against police brutality. Many are heartbroken over the destruction that comes after dark.
Nicolais: A perfect time to talk about the Korey Wise Innocence Project
Bearing the name of one of America’s most famous wrongfully convicted defendants, a CU Law School program continues to help inmates who’ve found themselves in hopeless circumstances
In Colorado prisons and jails, a piecemeal approach to the threat of coronavirus
“The introduction of COVID-19 into the corrections system could have devastating results,” Colorado's prisons director says.
Jared Polis can commute the sentences of Colorado’s three death row inmates at any time
The governor said the cases of the three men waiting to die by lethal injection are not “ripe” for his review because he hasn’t received any clemency requests. But he doesn’t necessarily need anything to take action.
Gov. Polis said he wanted to close a private prison. GEO Group beat him to it, leaving Colorado scrambling.
The Cheyenne Mountain Reentry Center will shutter on March 7, leaving 642 inmates and 180 employees in limbo. Colorado says it will likely mean jail backlogs, parole releases and prison crowding.
Colorado jails can’t hold people accused of low-level crimes in lieu of bail anymore. And that means current inmates could be released.
At least one Colorado county jail believes they have inmates who could have to be released under the new law
Nicolais: Colorado locks up those too poor to afford even $10 bail. That could change in 2019.
As poverty-stricken Coloradans remain incarcerated only due to an inability to pay even nominal bail, the Colorado Freedom Fund fights for change