Category Archives: Death Penalty

Even in the midst of coronavirus shut-downs, we have an opportunity today to celebrate. Today, Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 100 repealing the death penalty in Colorado and clearing death row. This long-overdue achievement makes Colorado the 22nd state to repeal the death penalty, finally ending this broken, costly, and unjust system in our state. As I complete my last month as Executive Director of the ACLU of Colorado after almost eight years in this position, I am particularly happy.... | Read More

For more than twenty years, an evolving coalition of victims’ family members, corrections officers, defense attorneys, prosecutors, faith leaders, and civil liberties champions have worked relentlessly to end the death penalty in Colorado. In 2019, following a democratic sweep of both the legislature and the Governor’s office, many thought repeal was inevitable. Unfortunately, the state senate could not bring the bill across the finish line. In response, the ACLU of Colorado launched an ambitious,.... | Read More

DENVER – After a nine month, community-led campaign, hours of emotional testimony and much debate, SB20-100 — the bill to end the death penalty in Colorado — passed its 3rd and final reading in the House. The bill is now headed to the Governor’s desk. Once signed, it will make Colorado the 22nd state to abolish the death penalty in the U.S. “Thanks to the support from faith leaders, death row exonerees, District Attorneys, corrections officers and, most significantly, family members.... | Read More

January 28, 2020 Effort to End the Death Penalty in Colorado Advances DENVER – Coloradans from across the state and sponsors on both sides of the aisle gathered to hear SB20-100 to Repeal The Death Penalty. After six hours of testimony, the bill passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee with a 3-2 vote. “Yesterday’s testimony from faith leaders, an exoneree from death row, District Attorneys, corrections officers and, most significantly, family members who lost loved ones to murder,.... | Read More

https://soundcloud.com/thepurplestatereport/29-dean-sanderford In this episode, we continue our series on Colorado’s death penalty. Our guest Dean Sanderford, witnessed the horribly botched execution of his client, Clayton Lockett. Public Policy Associate, Helen Griffiths interviews. Read the ACLU of Colorado report, “Ending a Broken System: Colorado’s Expensive, Ineffective and Unjust Death Penalty” at: http://bit.ly/EABSco Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-purple-state-report/id1257880553 The.... | Read More

DENVER – An ACLU of Colorado report released today highlights 22 stories of families whose loved ones were murdered and why, in the face of such tragedy, they firmly oppose the death penalty. The death penalty is an expensive, ineffective and unjust process that harms victims’ families. Over the course of decades, victims’ families are forced to navigate a complicated legal process and relive the trauma of their loved one’s murder. “There was a trial for the killer’s accomplice that dragged.... | Read More

https://soundcloud.com/thepurplestatereport/28-sister-helen-prejean The Purple State Report is back and we begin the new year with a series of podcast episodes analyzing Colorado’s death penalty. In this episode, our guest is Sister Helen Prejean, a prominent anti-death penalty activist and author of Dead Man Walking. Public Policy Director, Denise Maes and Public Policy Associate, Helen Griffiths interview. Join ACLU of Colorado on January 14, 2020, for End the Death Penalty Lobby Day. More.... | Read More

It is always sad to lose allies and friends of civil rights and civil liberties, but Colorado experienced a particularly great loss recently with the death of the Rev. Tammy Garrett-Williams. A fierce champion for the rights of people caught in the criminal justice system, her Above Waters Project has been deeply rooted in the lives of people directly impacted by mass incarceration and the criminal legal system. Her activism was widely visible across the community, from the NAACP to the Greater.... | Read More

Statement of ACLU of Colorado Executive Director Nathan Woodliff-Stanley: “The ACLU of Colorado is disappointed by Arapahoe County DA George Brauchler’s decision to pursue the death penalty in yet another case, an outlier decision in direct contradiction to movement across Colorado and the rest of the country away from spending limited resources in the pursuit of death. The death penalty is expensive and arbitrary, and every costly trial perpetuates a broken, racially-biased system that can.... | Read More

ACLU of Colorado Executive Director Nathan Woodliff-Stanley presented the following testimony to the Colorado Senate Judiciary Committee in opposition to SB 64, a bill that would have allowed death sentences to be given by non-unanimous juries.  The bill was defeated. Thank you, Madam Chair.  My name is Nathan Woodliff-Stanley, Executive Director of the ACLU of Colorado, and I testify in opposition to Senate Bill 64. There are only three states that currently allow non-unanimous juries in.... | Read More