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Colorado Legislature 2002
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- Death Decision Back in Juries' Hands
Lawmakers today approved a bill to place death penalty decisions in the hands of juries to bring Colorado law in compliance with a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling. The measure was sent to Gov. Bill Owens, who is expected to sign it before week's end. (7/11/02, Rocky Mountain News)
- Death Penalty Deal Delayed for Debate
Colorado lawmakers hit some snags Tuesday in their effort to rush a new death penalty law to the governor. The House, as expected, gave final approval to a bill requiring a unanimous jury vote to impose the death penalty and scrapping the current system of a three-judge panel making life-or-death decisions. ... But a few hours later, House members approved a second bill, HB 1024, that would allow a death sentence if at least 10 of the 12 jurors agree on that verdict. (7/10/02, Rocky Mountain News)
- Lawmakers Wrestle with Death Sentences
Lawmakers this week are expected to approve a bill that allows unanimous juries to hand down death sentences. But many legislators say it's window dressing likely to be replaced come January with a system that guarantees more executions. ... The Senate Judiciary Committee killed a measure that would abolish capital punishment even as Coloradans Against the Death Penalty met at the Capitol to urge a moratorium on the death penalty. (7/10/02, The Denver Post)
- Archbishop Seeks to Delay Decision
Archbishop Charles Chaput on Tuesday urged that the legislature wait until its regular session to debate the death penalty. "We should never be in a hurry to take anyone's life," Chaput said on behalf of the Colorado Catholic Conference. (7/10/02, Rocky Mountain News)
- House Tentatively OKs Unanimous Juries
The proposal to replace a three-judge panel decision on the death penalty virtually sailed through the House after committee debates in the House and Senate on Monday, the first day of the special legislative session. Gov. Bill Owens called the special session on the death penalty after a U.S. Supreme Court decision last month overturned an Arizona law considered similar to Colorado's. (7/9/02, The Daily Camera)
- Governor Says State Can't Wait on Death Penalty
Senate President Stan Matsunaka, D-Loveland, has said he thinks the legislature could have waited until its regular session in January to deal with the issue. A special session can cost between $13,000 and $15,000 a day. (7/9/02, Rocky Mountain News)
- Where Legislators Stand on the Death Penalty
Here's how various local legislators and legislative candidates stand on the death penalty. (7/7/02, The Daily Camera)
- Jury Role at Crux of Death Penalty Debate
Colorado legislators gather Monday to rewrite the state's death penalty law, and they have a choice -- take a safe tact that probably can't be challenged in court, or push the envelope. Gov. Bill Owens, Attorney General Ken Salazar, the state's prosecutors and various lawmakers already have endorsed the former ... Whatever the legislature does -- and it's almost certain to pass some kind of new law -- it will add a new chapter to the long and convoluted history of the death penalty, both in Colorado and in other states. (7/6/02, Rocky Mountain News)
- Governor Owens Wants Juries for Death Sentences
With Colorado's death penalty law in question, Gov. Bill Owens and Attorney General Ken Salazar will ask lawmakers to revert to a previous system requiring a unanimous jury vote for the death penalty. ... They hope their bipartisan support would smooth the way for approval during next week's special legislative session. (7/3/02, The Denver Post)
- Governor Owens Calls July 8 Session for Death Penalty
Owens decided to bring lawmakers back to Denver after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday that judges cannot impose death sentences. (6/28/02, Rocky Mountain News)
- Governor Owens Calling Special Session for Death Penalty
Gov. Bill Owens said Wednesday he will bring lawmakers back to the Capitol to rewrite Colorado's death penalty law and to clean up forest fire laws. ... Leadership in both the House and the Senate said they support Owens decision to call them back but realize that the death penalty debate ahead could be divisive and costly. (6/27/02, Rocky Mountain News)
- Ruling May Warrant Death-Penalty Rewrite
Colorado legislators may have to pass a new death penalty law to bring the state into compliance with Monday's U.S. Supreme Court ruling that maintains only juries can impose the death penalty, a preliminary analysis by Gov. Bill Owens' staff indicates. (6/26/02, The Denver Post)
- Legislators Seek Special Session for Death Penalty
Legislators from both parties called for a special session of the legislature to restore Colorado's death penalty law following Monday's U.S. Supreme Court decision. ... Colorado's lawmakers have mirrored the uneasy relationship Americans have had with whether or not a fellow citizen should face the ultimate punishment. Legislators have spent decades struggling over how and when convicted criminals should -- or shouldn't -- be executed. (6/25/02, Rocky Mountain News)
- SB 77: Committee Hearing for Death Penalty Bill
Sen. Ken Chlouber saw one of his aunt's killers executed last year, and now the Leadville Republican wants other victims' families to have the same experience. This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hear Chlouber's Senate Bill 77, which, if approved, will change the way executions are meted out. ... The bill, which he also pushed last year, would require a judge who presides over a capital trial to impose the penalty instead of a three-judge panel. Chlouber said a judge who hears a case is more likely to impose the death penalty. Senate Bill 77 will be heard Monday, February 11, 2002 at 1:30 p.m. in Room 353. (2/10/02, The Denver Post)
- SB 77: Committee Strikes Down Death Penalty Bill
The Senate Judiciary Committee struck down a bill Monday that would have taken away death sentencing from a three-judge panel and turned it over to a single judge. Senators said they are worried about a pending decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on the constitutionality of letting a single judge decide capital cases. Nathan Chambers, who represented Timothy McVeigh in appeals leading to his execution, told the committee that the Supreme Court is expected to decide soon in an Arizona case whether it is constitutional for a judge, not a jury, to decide if a convicted murderer receives a death sentence. The court's decision could affect nearly 800 death sentences in nine states, including Colorado. (2/12/02, The Daily Camera)
- SB77: Single Judge Death Sentence Bill Introduced
The Single Judge Death Sentence bill (SB02-077), was introduced by vocal death-penalty proponent Sen. Ken Chlouber (R-District 4). The bill was introduced in the Senate on January 11, 2002, and assigned to the Judiciary committee. (1/25/02, CADP)
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