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News
Colorado News Archive from 2009
- Archive
of Colorado News
See all CADP News links and excerpts
from the years 2000 | 2001 | 2002
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Broken Links
- Capital
Punishment in Colorado
Colorado Department of Corrections Web
site. Includes state capital punishment
history, statistics, FAQ, overview, daily
routine and execution day details.
- Colorado's
Death Row
CADP's information and links about prisoners
now on Colorado's death row.
- Colorado's
Death Row Appeals and Pending Capital
Cases
Information on clients, lawyers, places,
and dates.
- Colorado
General Assembly
News stories and links from the 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 |
2007 |
2008 Colorado legislative sessions.
- Denver Prosecutors Won't Seek Death Penalty
in Witness Killing
Denver prosecutors will not seek the death
penalty against Willie Clark, Shun Birch
and Brian Hicks for the 2006 murder of witness
Kalonniann Clark. (12/2/09, The Denver Post)
- Five
Questions for Michael Radelet, CU Sociology
Professor and Death Penalty Expert
A recent study commissioned by the Death
Penalty Information Center found that
many states - including Colorado - rarely
perform executions, despite the size
of their death penalty budgets. Last
May, a bill to eliminate the death penalty
lost by one vote in the Colorado Senate.
Colorado House Majority Leader Paul Weissmann,
D-Louisville, who introduced the bill,
estimated earlier this year that abolishing
the death penalty could save the state
$2 million annually and local authorities
another $2.5 million. In light of these
recent developments, the Camera sat down
to talk with Michael Radelet, chairman
of the Sociology Department at the University
of Colorado, who has worked with several
hundred people on Death Row, hundreds
of families of homicide victims and has
published numerous books and articles
about the death penalty. (11/9/09, The
Camera)
- Aurora,
Colorado Sentinel Editorializes Against
Death Penalty
The United States is the last modern society that doesn't admit that the death
penalty only makes for revenge, not justice, and that it's all too easy to kill
innocent people. The few who continue to mete out death are countries like China,
Iran and Saudi Arabia, Cuba and North Korea. Surely we have progressed further
than those societies and are ready to join the ranks of Canada, United Kingdom,
Australia and even Russia. (10/7/09, Editorial by the Aurora Sentinel)
- Colorado
DA Puts Her Thumb on Justice's Scale
in Capital Case
Carol Chambers gives capital
punishment a bad name. If you were comfortable
with the death penalty, you might rethink
your position now that Chambers' district
attorney office has withheld bombshell
defense evidence in a capital case. Papers
filed Thursday in Lincoln County District
Court accuse her staff of hiding key facts
- including a threatening letter and the
killing of another inmate. Both were crucial
to David Bueno's ability to defend himself
against charges he murdered a fellow inmate
at the Limon Correctional Facility. "Words
cannot express the enormity of this discovery
violation and the detrimental impact it
had on Mr. Bueno's defense," public
defenders railed.
(9/27/09, The Denver Post)
- CADP
Hosting 9/20 "Burnin' For Justice
Chili Cook Off"
The members of Coloradans Against the
Death Penalty are gearing up to pressure
legislators to end the death penalty
in Colorado. We can't win this battle
without educating the legislators and
people all over Colorado. We are going
to raise $1,000.00 to bring important
speakers that have been most touched
by the injustice of the death penalty
- the wrongfully accused. To help us,
join CADP for the September 20th "Burnin'
For Justice Chili Cook Off" in north
Denver. Enter your own chili - the best will
win a prize. Or come taste the delicious
variety. Get
more information.
- Another
Sentencing Delay in Ray Death Penalty
Case
Sentencing has been delayed a second
time for a man facing execution in the
death of an Aurora trial witness. A judge
was to hand down the death penalty Thursday
for 23-year-old Robert
Ray, but he delayed that until Oct.
16 so he could hear defense motions about
trial testimony and at about least one
juror. (9/11/09, The Denver Post)
- Family: Chase Wouldn't Have Wished
Death for Killer
The Chase family made it clear Monday that
Susannah Chase would not have wanted the
death penalty for the man who brutally
killed her with a baseball bat 12 years
ago. "She
wouldn’t have hurt anything," Susannah’s
mother, Julie Chase, said. "Even her
killer. She was a very sympathetic soul.
She would not have killed him." Diego
Olmos Alcalde, who was convicted of first-degree
murder Friday in the December 1997 beating
death of Susannah Chase, was sentenced
Monday to life in prison with no chance
of parole. (6/30/09, The Camera)
- CADP Solidarity Sunday Held on June
14
CADP's second "Solidarity Sunday" event
was held June 14 at Elitch Lanes, located
at 3825 Tennyson in Denver. Executive
Director Lisa Cisneros led a handful of
CADP members for a Sunday afternoon of
bowling fun. While good fun may have been
had, good form was not to be seen. According
to one eye-witness account, the CADP bowlers
may have "set the sport back by
at least fifty years."
However, the assembled group also discussed
CADP's new presence on Facebook, the
popular social networking site. (6/15/09, CADP)
- Robert
Ray Receives Death Penalty
Arapahoe
County jurors have decided that a convicted
killer should be executed. Robert Ray,
23, was convicted last month on two counts
of first-degree murder in the 2005 shooting
deaths of Javad Marshall-Fields and his
fiancée,
Vivian Wolfe. Marshall-Fields was a week
away from testifying against Ray in another
murder trial when he was killed. Jurors
came to a decision this morning, and the
judge asked all parties to be in court
at 11 a.m. to hear the verdict. It was
announced that Ray will receive the death
penalty. (6/8/09, The Denver Post)
- Revisit Death Penalty Bill
On the final day of the 2009 legislative
session, the Senate failed by one vote
to repeal the death penalty in Colorado
and to transfer the money spent on endless
legal battles to solve unsolved homicides
instead. But while House Bill 1274's prospects
of passing have ended, the debate over
the policy continues. ... While we are
intensely disappointed that the legislation
failed this year, we know this debate will
continue, both in the Capitol chambers
and across the state. We hope the discussion
will proceed informed by a careful assessment
of the significant costs that the current
capital punishment policy consumes, and
the negligible benefits it provides.
(5/21/09, The Denver Post)
- Ritter Keeps Death-Penalty View to Himself
Gov. Bill Ritter said Thursday that he
has an opinion on the death penalty but
won't say what it is. Ritter spoke about
the death penalty at a news conference
to discuss the 2009 legislative session,
which ended Wednesday. House Bill 1274,
which ultimately failed, would have eliminated
the death penalty in Colorado and used
expected savings to pay for the investigation
of unsolved homicides. (5/8/09, The Denver
Post)
- Colorado Senate Votes Against Repealing
Death Penalty
The Colorado Senate has voted 18-17 to
defeat a measure that would have repealed
the death penalty and used the savings
from its elimination to fund cold case
investigations. Four Democrats sided with
Republicans Wednesday to shoot down the
measure. The bill had faced tough opposition
since
it was introduced. It passed in the House
by a single vote last month. (5/6/09, 9
News.com)
- Governor Ritter: Death Penalty Repeal
Should Not Tie to Cold Cases
In his first comments on the bill, Gov.
Bill Ritter said today that he thinks the
proposal should not have been tied to funding
cold cases. "Those are two separate issues,
and I told the sponsor of the bill they were
wrong to do that," he said. "You
don't get a pure debate about either." The
governor, who previously served as district
attorney in Denver, has been criticized
for not saying where he stands on the bill.
(5/6/09, The Denver Post)
- Foes
of Colorado Death Penalty Hope to Revive
Bill
Opponents of the death penalty in Colorado
hope to revive a bill that would end capital
punishment and use the money saved to investigate
cold cases. (5/5/09, The Denver Post)
- Senate Refuses to Do Away with Death
Penalty
Colorado Senators rejected a plan on Monday
to do away with the death penalty. The
measure would have diverted the million dollars
spent on death penalty cases to a cold case
unit to solve older murders. Senators decided
instead to fund that cold case unit by charging
drivers who commit traffic offenses an extra
$5. ... The measure will have to go back
to the House which had earlier voted to do
away with the death penalty by a single vote.
(5/4/09, 9 News.com)
- Ritter Mum on Death Penalty Stance
Supporters
of a bill to eliminate the death penalty
in Colorado had questions for Gov. Bill
Ritter on Saturday, but he didn't have
many definitive answers. ... Ritter said
he would wait to see if the bill passes
the Senate before deciding if he would
sign or veto the bill. "I made commitments
to both sides -- they get to come to me
and make their arguments like they did
with legislators," Ritter told a later
questioner. Ritter's answer was at odds
with most of the crowd, which applauded
enthusiastically after Broomfield resident
Bob Hain asked Ritter to abolish the penalty.
(5/2/09, The Camera)
- Death Penalty Bill Heads to Colorado
Senate
The Colorado Senate is set to vote on a
measure to end the death penalty as lawmakers
rush to wrap up this year's legislative
session. The
measure (House Bill 1274) is expected to
come up for a vote Monday, two days before
lawmakers must adjourn. The bill passed
the House by a single vote, and another
close vote is expected in the Senate. Both
sides are planning to use the weekend to
try to shore up support, and both are mainly
focused on lobbying Democrats. Republicans
have largely opposed the bill. (5/3/09,
The Camera)
- Prosecutor Backs Elimination of Death
Penalty
Pueblo County District Attorney Bill Thiebaut
supports a bill that would eliminate the
death penalty in Colorado. Thiebaut is voicing
his support as his office decides whether
to seek the death penalty in the rape and
murder of a teenage girl. The former Democratic
lawmaker also wants to be appointed U.S.
attorney for Colorado.
(4/26/09, The Denver Post)
- Gunnison
Woman Fights For Cold Cases Bill
Debra Callihan thought she'd left politics
behind when her husband Mike left the lieutenant
governor's office back in the 90's. Then
House Bill 1274 was introduced and she jumped
back in. The bill would abolish the death
penalty and use the money spent prosecuting
those cases to solve cold cases instead.
(4/22/09, cbs4denver.com)
- Mother of Boulder Cold-Case Victim Hopeful
for New Task Force
When June Menger's phone rang Tuesday, the
Longmont woman said she nearly cried. or
years, Menger has been pushing lawmakers
to take money used to prosecute death-penalty
cases and put it toward a cold-case team
with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
On Tuesday, by one vote, the state House
approved the funding shift.
(4/21/09, The Camera)
- Colorado House Votes to Eliminate Death
Penalty
The Colorado
House
approved
a plan
Tuesday
to eliminate the death penalty and use
the money to focus on cold cases. The measure
now goes to the Senate, where it's expected
to pass. Gov. Bill Ritter, a former prosecutor,
hasn't said whether he would sign the bill.
The bill passed by a single vote, 33-32,
after victims' relatives asked lawmakers
to help with unsolved slayings. (4/21/09,
The Denver Post)
- Can
Abolishing the Colorado Death Penalty
Help Solve Cold Cases?
At yesterday's event, Morton was joined
by a coalition that included Bishop James
Conely of the Archdiocese of Denver, Temple
Emmanuel Senior Rabbi Steven Foster, ACLU
Legal Director Mark Silverstein and representatives
of Amnesty International USA, Coloradans
Against the Death Penalty, the Colorado
Criminal Defense Bar, Hunger for Justice,
Colorado Council of Churches and Colorado
CURE. They argued that the death penalty
does not deter violent crime and said abolishing
capital punishment in Colorado was both
the moral and fiscally responsible thing
to do, noting that the bill was part of
a national trend away from capital punishment.
(4/7/09, Westword)
- Coalition
at Capitol Backs Bill to Abolish Death
Penalty
A coalition of religious leaders,
defense lawyers and families of unsolved-murder
victims gathered Monday at the Capitol
to voice support for a bill abolishing
Colorado's death penalty. The legislation,
House Bill 1274, would take an estimated
$1 million the state spends prosecuting
capital crimes and dedicate the funds to
solving cold cases. (4/7/09, The Denver
Post)
- Crime and Punishment: Can Killing Colorado's
Death Penalty Help the State Catch Murderers?
While people on both sides of the issue can
debate the principles of capital punishment
to ad infinitum, the heart of the issue for
lawmakers and for the public seems to be
how the death penalty is implemented and
whether it is effective. Colorado is one
of seven states pushing to abolish the death
penalty on the grounds of cost. ... Regardless
of the moral debate behind it, lawmakers
are asking themselves whether or not the
death penalty works. (3/25/09, Boulder Weekly)
- Colorado
State of Mind TV: Cost of the Death Penalty
In Colorado and other
states, the morality of the death penalty
is being debated within the framework of
the cost of the death penalty. One proposed
bill would save Colorado a million dollars
a year and shift resources to unsolved
murders. Is that a good idea?
(3/19/09, Rocky Mountain PBS)
- Citing
Cost, States Consider End to Death Penalty
Lawmakers in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and New Hampshire have made the same
argument in recent months as they push bills seeking to repeal the death penalty,
and experts say such bills have a good chance of passing in Maryland, Montana
and New Mexico. ... Capital cases are expensive because the trials tend to take
longer, they typically require more lawyers and more costly expert witnesses,
and they are far more likely to lead to multiple appeals. (2/24/09, New York
Times)
- Bill
Would Kill CO Death Penalty, Shift Money
to Cold Cases
The House Judiciary Committee sent House
Bill 1274 to the Appropriations Committee
in a 7-4 vote. If it passes there, it would
move to the House floor. The legislation
would shift funds currently used to prosecute
death-penalty cases to deal with the growing
backlog of more than 1,400 unsolved homicides
that have stymied local investigators since
1970. Death penalty cases are expensive because
the court process is complicated and usually
involves multiple appeals. (2/23/09, 9 News.com)
- Watch
Video about Families and Colorado Death
Penalty Bill (2/23/09,
9 News.com)
- CADP
Sponsors Solidarity Sunday on March 1st
All members are welcome. Bring a friend
and let's get the new year off to a good
start. Join CADP for a pizza and beer happy
hour. (2/17/09, CADP)
- Perspectives
on the Death Penalty & Sentencing
(Mis-guided Guidelines?)
Program with the Honorable Rosemary Barkett,
United States Circuit Judge, Eleventh
Circuit Court of Appeals. Open reception
to follow. Event being held March 5th
at the University of Colorado. (2/17/09,
CADP)
- Bill
Would Kill Death Penalty, Shift Money
to Cold Cases
A bill is being introduced in Colorado
to end the state’s death penalty
and to use the resultant savings to investigate
the state's more than 1,300 unsolved crimes.
More than 500 residents who have lost friends
and family to unsolved murders are pushing
for the bill, which is expected to be introduced
by House Majority Leader Paul Weissmann.
The proponents estimate that 3 in 10 killers
in the state walk free, and catching more
killers would be a more effective deterrent
than capital punishment and a better use
of state funds. Weissman says abolishing
capital punishment could save the state
$2 million a year and local authorities
another $2.5 million. “Any other
program that cost that much and was used
so little would be the first to go,” said
Weissman, whose 2007 version of the bill
died narrowly on the House floor. Howard
Morton, of Families of Homicide Victims
and Missing Persons, said, "Our position
is very simple. Why talk about penalties
when we haven't even caught [them]? Let's
do first things first. These murderers
are living in our neighborhoods."
(2/7/09, DPIC Update)
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