CADP Honors Vela
Coloradans Against The Death Penalty (CADP) named David Vela its Abolitionist of the Year Thursday, October 5, 2000 at a dinner in his honor. Approximately 200 people assembled at Montview Presbyterian Church to recognize Vela's significant contributions to Colorado's fight for abolition.
CADP President Don Bounds introduced David Kaplan, keynote speaker and Vela' s successor as head of the Office of the Colorado State Public Defender. Kaplan remembered being hired by Vela and watching as the system, under Vela' s leadership, became a model for the nation as a provider of first rate capital defense for indigent clients. However, Kaplan reminded his audience that the fight to abolish the death penalty in Colorado has formidable opponents. He cited the passage of three-judge panel sentencing and the constant threat of even more draconian legislation as examples of what CADP and its allies face in the future.
In accepting the award, Vela urged consideration of tactics other than legislation aimed at ending capital punishmnt. Given the overwhelming political pressures inherent in requiring judges to decide the question of death, Vela suggested that term limits on judges might be the most efficient way to remove this pressure and achieve a greater degree of honesty in capital sentencing. Vela cited the appointment of three judges from El Paso County to sentence George Woldt after the public outcry surrounding his co-defendant's sentence to life, in which a judge from another judicial district was involved, as an example of how political pressure further erodes public confidence in the already immoral spectacle of government-sponsored murder.
Although the past year has brought many reasons for hope and celebration in the abolitionist community, the annual dinner served to remind those present of how much work is still left to do. However, the large turnout and the many people who gave generously to make the dinner possible were welcome indications of how much support the abolition movement has in Colorado.
Coloradans Against the Death Penalty Newsletter -- Winter 2000
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