Statement of ACLU of Colorado Legal Director Mark Silverstein on the US Supreme Court’s Decision to Keep Files Sealed in Capital Case against Sir Mario Owens

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 be conducted in secret.”