Resentencing law is upheld

State Supreme Court keeps 2016 law that revised sentencing for juveniles

The Colorado Supreme Court on Monday upheld a 2016 state law related to the resentencing of inmates who originally had been sent to prison for life without parole while they were juveniles.

The ruling was issued after 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler challenged the law, which affected a handful of state prison inmates who are serving life without parole for felony murder.

The U.S. Supreme Court in 2012 ruled that sentencing juveniles to life in prison without the possibility of parole was unconstitutional.

Brauchler argued that Colorado’s law created a special class of people, and he filed the appeal to the state Supreme Court earlier this year just as an Arapahoe County District Court judge was set to resentence Curtis Brooks, who is serving life without parole after being convicted of felony murder for a shooting that happened when he was 15.

On Monday, Brauchler said he was ready to move on.

“We raised this issue because we had doubts about the validity of the law,” he said in a statement. “The Supreme Court has now spoken, we know what the law is, and we accept that the ruling is now the law of our state. It is important that we now see that Mr. Brooks is back in court as soon as possible for resentencing under the 2016 legislation.”

The Colorado Legislature was forced to address the issue of juveniles sentenced to life without parole after the U.S. Supreme Court found such punishments unconstitutional. The new law revised sentencing so that most people sentenced under the old juvenile guidelines would be eligible for parole after 40 years.

However, the law said a juvenile sentenced to mandatory life without parole for a felony murder conviction could request a resentencing hearing before a district court judge, who could decide to impose a new sentence of 30 to 50 years in prison. That clause affected an estimated 16 people, according to the state Supreme Court ruling.

Brooks is appealing for a new sentence in Arapahoe County District Court.

Brooks was sentenced in 1997 for his role in the 1995 robbery and shooting death of Christopher Ramos, 24. Brooks participated in the carjacking, but he did not fire the fatal shot.

Brooks, who has served 23 years in prison, is hoping that a new sentence along with credits earned for good behavior could lead to an immediate release.

He applied for clemency, but Gov. John Hickenlooper held off on a decision because of the state Supreme Court’s pending ruling.