Category Archives: Death Penalty

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

“The poll released today by the Better Priorities Initiative confirms what we had suspected to be true; namely that Coloradans have grown uncomfortable with the failed experiment of the death penalty. Given the clear racial and geographical disparities in its application, fair-minded Coloradans are showing they are ready to move forward toward sensible criminal justice policies that actually serve us all. Additionally the poll would suggest that there’s a shift among the public as displayed.... | Read More

August 7, 2015 “Today’s verdict in the Aurora Theater shooting trial means that James Holmes will spend the rest of his life behind bars. It is the appropriate and harsh punishment for his crimes. “The jury recognized that executing someone with severe mental illness is morally and legally indefensible. It is fortunate that Colorado will not be in the terrible position of having to do so. Furthermore, this verdict means the victims and their family members will be spared from years of.... | Read More

Statement from Better Priorities Initiative on Abolition of the Death Penalty by the State of Nebraska (ACLU of Colorado is a founding member of Better Priorities Initiative, a statewide coalition to end the death penalty in Colorado.) “We applaud the state of Nebraska today for officially abolishing their death penalty.  Their citizens and lawmakers have recognized that the death penalty is broken.  It does not deter crime or make us safer.  It prolongs the healing for victims and their.... | Read More

“The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado is encouraged by 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler’s decision to end his lengthy and expensive pursuit of the death penalty in the trial of Edward Montour. “We also recognize the courage of Robert Autobee, who spoke out against the deep flaws in Colorado’s death penalty from a unique and extremely personal perspective.  Thankfully, Robert Autobee and his family will now be afforded the closure they have sought for more than.... | Read More

February 24, 2014 “It is baffling that Colorado courts and now the U.S Supreme Court have continued to deny the public access to the transcripts and other records of a death penalty case that was concluded six years ago. “The records of criminal cases, especially where the government seeks an execution, must be open to public review and scrutiny. With questions nationwide and here in Colorado about the deep systematic flaws in administration of the death penalty, these trials should not.... | Read More

Faith, Social Justice, and Civil Rights Organizations call on Colorado to End Unjust and Expensive Death Penalty Coalition releases new data comparing added costs of death penalty trials with cuts to public priorities and services (more…) | Read More

Statement of ACLU of Colorado Deputy Director Stephen Meswarb on Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey’s decision to seek the death penalty in the Fero’s bar case “The ACLU of Colorado is disappointed by Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey’s decision to pursue the death penalty in this case. The death penalty is immoral, unjust, and expensive, and every execution and death warrant perpetuates an arbitrary system that can and does make irreversible mistakes. “When prosecutors.... | Read More