Hickenlooper ‘gathering information’ as Dunlap execution ticks closer
(Apr 22, 2013) A district judge is set to schedule an execution date for Dunlap, who murdered four people inside an Aurora Chuck E. Cheese 20 years ago, on May 1; and that execution date would likely be some time in August. Read more here
DA seeks death penalty in slaying of prison worker
(Apr 9, 2013) An inmate accused in the 2002 slaying of a prison worker will be placed on trial and prosecutors will seek the death penalty after a judge Tuesday allowed the suspect to withdraw his guilty plea. Read more here
Death Penalty Sought in Colorado Shooting Trial
(Apr 1, 2013) Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty for James Holmes, the graduate student accused of killing 12 and injuring scores at a crowded movie theater last July, in a decision that will likely lead to a protracted trial. Read more here
Death penalty decision coming Mon. in Holmes Aurora theater shooting case
(Mar 29, 2013) Prosecutors and defense lawyers entered a number of last minute motions Friday just ahead of Monday’s court hearing. Read more here
Death penalty repeal killed
(Mar 29, 2013) Two Democrats joined every Republican on the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday to put the brakes on a proposed death penalty repeal after Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper had earlier hinted that he might veto the legislation. Read more here
James Holmes plea rejected: Are prosecutors prepping for death penalty?
(Mar 29, 2013) Prosecutors are rejecting a plea agreement proposed by defense attorneys for James Holmes, the primary suspect in the mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., that killed 12 and injured 70 last July. The agreement proposes a guilty plea if Mr. Holmes does not receive the death penalty. Read more here
Colorado committee rejects death penalty repeal; sponsor blames Gov. Hickenlooper
(Mar 26, 2013) Until Hickenlooper voiced opposition at a House Democratic caucus luncheon, the bill’s sponsors said they had the votes to pass the measure out of committee and through both chambers, and ultimately deliver it to the governor’s desk. Read more here
Death Penalty: Hickenlooper’s Influence Remains Strong
(Mar 26, 2013) Sponsors were confident they had the votes to pass the bill in the House and the Senate. But after Governor Hickenlooper let the committee and the rest of his Democratic colleagues know that he was likely to veto the bill if it hit his desk, that support faded fast. James Holmes offers guilty plea to avoid death penalty
Attorneys for Denver-area theater shooting suspect James Holmes have offered to have him plead guilty and be jailed for life to avoid the death penalty, KUSA-TV is reporting. Read more here
Rep. Fields introduces death penalty proposal, competing measure up Tuesday
(Mar 18, 2013) On Monday afternoon, Rep. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, introduced a measure to have voters decide in 2014 whether to repeal the death penalty. Last Friday, two House Democrats, Reps. Claire Levy of Boulder, and Jovan Melton of Aurora, introduced a bill to allow lawmakers to repeal capital punishment. It will be heard Tuesday before the House Judiciary Committee. Read more here
Personal Stories Grip Lawmakers On Death Penalty
(Mar 17, 2013) A proposal to abolish Colorado’s death penalty will be one of the most emotional issues this legislative session – in part because lawmakers’ own stories are closely connected to the debate. The three men on Colorado’s death row all attended the same high school in suburban Denver at different times. Democratic Rep. John Buckner of Aurora was the high school’s principal when each attended. Read more here
Colorado death penalty opponents step up campaign to get clemency for Nathan Dunlap
(Mar 12, 2013) DENVER – Opponents of the death penalty are trying to persuade Gov. John Hickenlooper to grant clemency to death-row inmate Nathan Dunlap. Records obtained by the Denver Post show Dunlap’s attorneys and members of the public are hoping to sway Hickenlooper’s decision because of possible signs that the governor’s position on the issue has wavered. Hickenlooper has not said what he plans to do. Read more here
Death-penalty foes turn up heat on Gov. Hickenlooper
(Mar 11, 2013) Attorneys for Colorado death-row inmate Nathan Dunlap are working on a clemency petition in the hopes of persuading Gov. John Hickenlooper to spare the killer’s life. Records show, however, that the petition will not be the first outreach by Dunlap’s attorneys to the governor’s office. E-mails provided to The Denver Post as part of an open-records request reveal that Dunlap’s attorneys have been in regular contact with members of Hickenlooper’s legal team. Read more here
Bill to repeal Colorado’s death penalty will be introduced next week
(Mar 6, 2013) As if state lawmakers don’t already have their hands full with enough hot-button issues, legislation to repeal Colorado’s death penalty is set to be introduced next Friday, March 15. Multiple sources have confirmed that the legislation will be introduced in the House and will get its initial House committee hearing the following Tuesday, March 19. Read more here
Nathan Dunlap Death Row Case: Appeals Exhausted For Colorado Chuck E. Cheese’s Killer
(Feb 20, 2013) The United States Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to hear the appeal of death-row prisoner Nathan Dunlap, the Colorado man convicted of the 1993 murder of four employees at an Aurora Chuck E. Cheese’s restaurant. Dunlap’s fate is now in the hands of Governor John Hickenlooper. Read more here
U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear death-penalty appeal of Nathan Dunlap
(Feb 19, 2013) Death stepped closer to Nathan Dunlap on Tuesday, when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the best legal chance the convicted murderer had left to avoid execution. Dunlap was sentenced to die for killing four people in 1993 at an Aurora Chuck E. Cheese restaurant. Read more here
Death Penalty Prosecutor Joins Holmes Case
(Jan 31, 2013) A former Colorado Springs prosecutor who has tried four death penalty cases and several murder cases will lead the prosecution against the suspect in the Colorado theater shooting case.Read more here
Colorado Considers the Future of the Death Penalty
(Jan 21, 2013) Two competing bills on the future of the death penalty in Colorado may be taken up by the state Legislature this session. Claire Levy, from Boulder County, wants to make the maximum sentence in Colorado life in prison without parole. Levy says while there are objections to the death penalty on moral grounds, the lengthy appeals process makes it difficult for the victims’ families to get any real closure. Read more here
Opinion, Denver Post: Abolish death penalty in Colorado
(Jan 9, 2013) It appears that the Colorado legislature is finally poised to give serious consideration to ending the barbaric, money-sucking relic of bygone years known as the death penalty. Read more here
Opinion, Loveland Reporter-Herald: Colorado must rethink death penalty
(Jan 7, 2013) Since 1973, 142 people have been released from death row in the United States because of evidence suggesting they were not guilty. That alone should stand as an argument against the death penalty. It is without question that Americans have been executed for crimes of which they were not guilty. Read more here.
Rep Levy Confident That Repeal Can Pass
(Jan 3, 2013) Before Representative Claire Levy proposes legislation to repeal the death penalty in Colorado, she wants to be sure that it can pass. And after more discussions with her fellow lawmakers on the topic, she says it seems like the momentum is right to get rid of the death penalty — even if one of her Democratic colleagues is adamantly opposed to the move. Read more here
Rep Fields Proposes Voters Decide Death Penalty Question
(Dec 30, 2012) As state Rep. Rhonda Fields’ Democratic colleagues attempt to gather support for ending capital punishment through legislation, she has started work on a bill that would put the death-penalty question on the 2014 ballot, she said. Her counterproposal sets the stage for a political showdown on a traditionally touchy topic at the Capitol, where some key officials’ stances against abolishing the death penalty have recently softened. Read more here
Boulder DA in favor of axing death penalty
(Dec 29, 2012) As Colorado lawmakers consider repealing the death penalty, Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett said he would most likely be in favor of a bill doing away with capital punishment, a stance that is not surprising given Boulder’s history — or lack thereof — with the practice.
Opinion, Denver Post: Why Colorado should end the death penalty
(Dec 27, 2012) Boulder state Rep. Claire Levy is reportedly testing the waters for a possible bill to end the death penalty in Colorado. We hope she takes the plunge. You can’t pass legislation unless you try, and the stars may finally be aligned for success on this difficult issue. Read more here
Rep. Claire Levy Drafting Bill To Repeal Death Penalty In Colorado
(Dec 21, 2012) State Rep. Claire Levy this week told The Colorado Independent she is writing a bill to eliminate the death penalty in Colorado. Levy, D-Boulder, said she will introduce the bill if she is satisfied it will have a strong chance of passing. Read more here
Anti-Death Penalty Activity in Colorado
(Dec 5, 2012) Opponents of Colorado’s death penalty are working behind the scenes in preparation for the 2013 session of the state Legislature.
Read more here
Bob Autobee “drops out” of death penalty battle for son’s killer
(Dec 4, 2012) Frustrated by a decade of legal delays and setbacks, the father of slain state corrections officer Eric Autobee says that he now opposes further efforts to obtain the death penalty for inmate Edward Montour Jr. for the 2002 murder. Read more here
