Criminal justice changes considered
Colorado’s lawmakers for a second year in a row are considering a bevy of bills that propose major changes to how the state treats those accused and convicted of crimes.
While the historic repeal of the death penalty has dominated headlines, a number of other criminal justice bills are making their way through the statehouse. If passed, the bills would make it easier for most arrestees to leave jail, make it easier to parole and clarify other laws with loopholes. One bill, already passed but awaiting the governor’s signature, will reopen a closed state prison to replace beds lost by the closing of a private facility.
“I think we’re just as busy as last year,” said Arnold Hanuman, deputy director of the Colorado District Attorneys’ Council.
Many of the major criminal justice bills this session are on similar topics as those seen last year, such as prison population and pretrial reform, Hanuman said. Many of the bills expand on the groundwork laid then.
“We’re just getting going in the General Assembly this year,” said Rep. Leslie Herod, a Denver Democrat. “We’ve made some huge gains already and are excited to make more.”
But members of at least one advocacy group representing victims of crime were worried by the number of bills that would make it easier for criminals to get out of prison or jail. The group particularly opposed one that would allow people convicted of crimes as young people to apply for a program to get early parole.
“This year the winds seem to blowing against us, so we are mostly playing defense, trying to keep things from getting worse,” said Ray Harlan, chairman of Colorado Victims for Justice.
New beds, old prison
Lawmakers last week ended years of debate when they passed a bill that would reopen the shuttered Centennial South prison. The bill still awaits the governor’s signature but, if signed, the law would allow up to 650 inmates to stay at the facility. The bed space is much needed after private prison company GEO Group decided to close its facility in Colorado Springs.
The law would also require other states get the governor’s approval before moving their inmates to private facilities in Colorado, potentially blocking an Idaho plan to send more than 1,000 inmates to a closed private prison here.
The bill also clarifies the state’s criminal law about escapes by creating a less-severe charge of unauthorized absence for people who walk away from a halfway house. Previously, those who broke out of a prison were charged with the same crime as someone who failed to return to a halfway house on time after leaving for work.
“The reason now is the time is that we’re not adding capacity to the system, we’re reducing Herod said.
The final language of the bill was a compromise, said Christie Donner, executive director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition. While she doesn’t agree with every part of the bill, she said the language that relaxes the escape statute was an important win.
“We’re pleased with the components — the right balance was struck,” she said. “We don’t love the whole thing, but that’s the intention of bargains.”
Treatment before conviction
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Two other meaty bills aim to build on changes made last year to how defendants are treated before they are convicted.
One bill would create a presumption that judges and jails would release suspects without requiring them paying any bond money. Jails and judicial districts will have to create systems to assess what risk arrestees present to the public if released.
If it’s determined that a person cannot be automatically released, they are entitled to a bond hearing as soon as practicable, the bill states. If a bond amount or release condition are set, they must be the least restrictive possible.
A separate bill requires that every person arrested is entitled to a bond hearing within 48 hours of arriving in jail. A similar provision was considered last year, but faced opposition from rural counties who said they would struggle to staff weekend and holiday hearings.
This year’s bill addresses that concern by creating a statewide bond hearing officer who would conduct weekend and holiday hearings through video conferencing.
The biggest struggle with pretrial reform is making sure that there is enough money to pay for the additional staff and resources needed, said Herod, who is a lead sponsor on both 2020 pretrial bills. If passed, the bills’ changes are expected to cost a combined $3.5 million in fiscal year 2021, according to their fiscal notes.
Other criminal justice bills under consideration this year include:
• A bill that would create a 23rd judicial district by separating Arapahoe County from Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties. Currently, all four counties make up the 18th Judicial District. The bill passed both chambers of the statehouse and awaits the governor’s signature.
• A bill that creates a gunrelinquishment process for those facing a protection order for suspected domestic abuse. A previous law banned such suspects from possessing a gun, but enforcement of the law has been inconsistent and difficult.
• A bill to remove the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits connected to sexual assault.
• A bill requiring district attorneys to collect and publish data on the demographics of the people they are prosecuting.
What’s next
The legislature will take on the hefty task of clarifying state law about how much of a sentence prisoners must serve before being released, Hanuman and Donner said.
It can be difficult to tell how much of a sentence a prisoner must serve before being eligible for parole or release because of a complex system that allows inmates to accrue time off their sentence as well as special programs for some inmates.
Donner and Hanuman said that addressing the issue, known as truth in sentencing, will become an important goal for lawmakers in the coming years.
“We’re not meeting the mandates of the constitution in letting victims know how much time the defendant is going to serve,” Hanuman said.
Untangling the entire criminal code to achieve that goal is a daunting task, Hanuman said.
Colorado also needs to address deficiencies in other arenas — like addiction and mental health treatment — in order to make the criminal justice system more equitable and efficient, Donner said.
“We’ve been overusing the criminal justice system,” Donner said. “We need to reform the system for sure, but there are other systems that need reform too.”