Cents and Sensibility
-- By
Angela Campbell
In the midst of one of the nation's
worst financial crises, Colorado certainly
has challenges to address. In Gov. Ritter's
Jan. 8 State of the State address, he said,
"We're making state government work
better for taxpayers, taking a more common-sense
approach and saving hundreds of millions
of dollars, including $600,000 simply by
renegotiating cell phone contracts; $600,000
may not sound like a lot, but every dollar
counts."
Times
may get worse before they get better, Governor
Ritter said, outlining some of the measures,
no matter how seemingly inconsequential,
the State is taking to reduce the impact
on Colorado's
working families. Government is trying to
increase its efficiency and reduce waste.
Time for Another Look at Colorado Cold
Case Bill
After listening to Governor Ritter trying
to make the best of a challenging situation,
I thought now is the time for Coloradans
to take another look at the Cold Case Bill
brought to a vote last session by Rep. Paul
Weissmann, D-Louisville. In a State where
every dollar counts, Coloradans should be
asking whether the death penalty is worth
what it's costing, particularly when
it's been used so infrequently in
recent years.
Howard Morton, on behalf of Families
of Homicide Victims and Missing Persons,
has worked tirelessly to introduce a bill
which would help bring justice to families
dealing with the loss of loved ones whose
murders remain unsolved. Last year, the
bill nearly passed. This year, HB09-1274 made
it through House Judiciary Committee and
now it waits in the Appropriations Committee.
If it passes there, it will soon be before
the House.
This bill seeks to repeal the death penalty
in Colorado. It again declares the intent
of the General Assembly to use the savings
from the abolition of the death penalty to
fund the cold case unit in the Colorado Bureau
of Investigation.
The Bill Makes Sense for Colorado
Values and ethical considerations
aside, this bill makes sense for Colorado.
In a state faced with numerous job losses,
closures of state-run facilities and other
possible losses of important state programs,
people are asking "Is the death penalty
worth what it's costing us?"
