A 2019 law that restored voting rights to more than 11,000 people on parole in Colorado is driving new voter registration efforts ahead of the November election. The Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition and the Latino Coalition for Community Leadership are aiming to register 5,000 people who are out on parole. An earlier effort that […]
prison
Posted inBook Excerpts, SunLit
A rite of initiation provides a violent — but welcome — admission to an eternal bond
Erika T. Wurth’s publications include two novels, “Crazy Horse’s Girlfriend” and “You Who Enter Here,” two collections of poetry and a collection of short stories, “Buckskin Cocaine.” A writer of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, she teaches creative writing at Western Illinois University and has been a guest writer at the Institute of American Indian Arts. […]
Posted inSunLit, SunLit Interviews
A New Mexico sabbatical provided opportunity for research on Native gangs, and a start to a Colorado author’s novel
Erika T. Wurth’s publications include two novels, “Crazy Horse’s Girlfriend” and “You Who Enter Here,” two collections of poetry and a collection of short stories, “Buckskin Cocaine.” A writer of fiction, nonfiction and poetry, she teaches creative writing at Western Illinois University and has been a guest writer at the Institute of American Indian Arts. […]
Posted inUncategorized
Former Denver police officer helps track down Colorado prison escapee who shot him decades ago
A man who escaped from a Colorado prison in 1974 was found living under an alias in a small town in northern New Mexico after the Denver police officer he shot decades ago helped track him down, authorities said. Luis Archuleta, 77, also known as Larry Pusateri, was arrested Wednesday in Espanola, New Mexico, where […]
Posted inCOVID, Crime and Courts, News
Inmate, staff member test positive for coronavirus at Buena Vista prison
Widespread testing for the coronavirus will be conducted at a Colorado prison after one inmate and a staff member tested positive for COVID-19, the state corrections department said Tuesday. The worker has not been in the Buena Vista Correctional Facility since June 30 and it has not been determined whether the new cases are connected, […]
Posted inCOVID, News
Colorado prison inmate dies after being taken to hospital with coronavirus symptoms
An inmate at a prison in northeast Colorado where there has been a large outbreak of the new coronavirus has died. The 86-year-old man was taken from the Sterling Correctional Facility to a hospital on Monday after becoming ill with symptoms of the virus, according to the Colorado Department of Corrections. He died on Friday. […]
Posted inCOVID, Crime and Courts, News, Politics and Government
Jared Polis can commute the sentences of Colorado’s three death row inmates at any time
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis could use his broad powers to commute the sentences of the three men on the state’s death row today. In fact, he could have converted their death sentences to life-in-prison immediately after taking office in January 2019. But Polis has sidestepped questions about how he will handle their cases, which became […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
“He seems like a very nice person”: Trump commutes sentence of Rod Blagojevich, who is being held in Colorado prison
By Bob Chiarito, Block Club Chicago On Tuesday morning, Rod Blagojevich and his family got the news they’ve been waiting on for years: His 14-year prison sentence for corruption is over, officially halted by President Donald Trump, who once fired him on “Celebrity Apprentice.” By Tuesday night, he was released from a federal prison in […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Court sides with Colorado’s federal supermax prison in censorship case brought by magazine
A federal appeals court in Denver has ruled that officials at a supermax prison in Colorado sufficiently changed their policies and corrected their mistakes after refusing to distribute a magazine that provides legal information to inmates. The three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday rejected an argument by the magazine’s […]
Posted inCrime and Courts, News
Federal investigation launched into former Westminster cop sentenced to 90 days in jail for unlawful sexual contact
The FBI has launched a federal investigation into a former Westminster police officer who was sentenced to 90 days in jail after being convicted of unlawful sexual contact while on duty, a penalty that drew outrage. A federal search warrant was filed by the FBI in June related to the case against the former officer, […]