Gov. Hickenlooper fires back at criticism from DA over the Lima-marin pardoning

spondedGov. John to HickenlooperDistrict Attorneyon Saturday George re-Brauchler’s criticism of his pardoning of Rene Lima-marin, with the governor rejecting claims he had broken Colorado law in his haste to grant clemency.

The governor’s office said it had given proper notice to the 18th Judicial District-attorney’s office, even receiving a lengthy letter in reply on Brauchler’s letterhead. Additionally, the office said it was with in the governor’s authority to skip the waiting period typically required for pardons.

On Wednesday, a judge determined that Lima-marin, who supporters say had turned his life around and started a family after he was mistakenly released early, did not need to serve the rest of his initial 98-year-sentence. But instead of returning home, Lima-Marin was handed to Immigration and customs Enforcement to be sent back to Cuba.

Lima-marin’s lawyer pleaded Friday for the governor to act quickly. Four hours later, Hickenlooperstill unclear whether announcedthe pardonthe pardon.will stopIt is Lima-marin’s deportation. Hickenlooper’s move drew sharp criticism from Brauchler, a Republican who announced his bid for governor in April. Brauchler said neither he nor the sentencing judge had been given proper notice, which meant they could not respond in time nor seek input from victims. Additionally, he said pardons are only available after seven years — “this applicant wasn’t even out of custody seven days,” he jabbed. “The hasty decision to ignore state law was made seemingly to skirt federal law,” Brauchler said Friday, “and that is not an appropriate use of the governor’s pardon power. The Governor’s Office of Legal Counsel disputed those claims in a statement released Saturday. The office said it had solicited input from Brauchler’s office within the proper time frame, receiving a long response Monday from the DA’S chief deputy district attorney that included input from the victims. It is common to receive responses from attorneys in the office other than the electedda. The office said it had reached out to the prosecuting attorney, now amagistrate, but he did not wish toweigh in on the clemency decision.

The governor has “broad discretion” to grant pardons and can waive certain wait periods, the office said.

“Lima-marin was released in 2008 and successfully completed parole,” the statement said. “Chief Judge (Carlos) Samour recently found that any subsequent confinement was unlawful. While we typically ask applicants to wait seven years after completing their sentence before applying for a pardon, we made an exception in this case because of the gross injustice Chief Judge Samour and others identified.”