Face the State Staff Report
The House Judiciary Committee voted Monday to approve a bill that seeks to abolish the death penalty in Colorado. Money currently used for death penalty cases would instead fund the cold case unit of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. Supporters of the legislation claim the move would save taxpayers money while also bringing justice to more victims of violent crimes.
House Bill 1274, co-sponsored by Rep. Paul Weissmann, D-Louisville, and Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, is almost identical to legislation introduced by Weissmann in 2007. That year, the bill was passed out of committee but failed on third reading in the House. Weissmann is hopeful that this time around, lawmakers will focus on the fiscal impacts of the bill rather than the emotional and moral arguments surrounding the death penalty.
"It's not about whether or not the death penalty is morally bankrupt," Weissmann told Face the State. "You can debate morals forever and not resolve it. What you can resolve is that there is a lack of money we spend on the state and local levels trying to solve unsolved homicides."
During testimony that lasted well into the evening, witnesses testified that Colorado spends more than $3 million each year trying death penalty cases. Meanwhile, they say, there are currently 1,400 unsolved murders in the state. The bill's supporters maintain that using the money currently allocated for fees and litigation to try death penalty cases could be put to much better use solving cold cases that could take murderers off the streets.
The cold case unit of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation was created after the 2007 legislative session. Its initial allocation was $67,800 with the department now pushing for an increase in funding.
Weissmann explained that if the death penalty were abolished, the maximum sentence that could be sought by prosecutors would be life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. He says that in the long run, incarcerating potential death row inmates would be cheaper than death penalty cases that drag on for years.
The average cost of incarcerating an inmate in Colorado, death row or otherwise, is $103.58 per day.
Committee member Rep. Steve King, a Republican and violent crimes investigator from Grand Junction, argued against the bill, maintaining that inmates who have been sentenced to life in prison without parole often feel they have nothing left to lose, meaning they are more likely to coordinate violence on inmates and guards from within their cells.
Attorney General John Suthers, along with several district attorneys and members of the legal community, also testified in opposition. Suthers argued that while life imprisonment without parole is a serious sentence, there are rare instances for which the death penalty must be reserved.
"I personally remain convinced that Colorado should retain the death penalty for one basic reason. There are heinous crimes committed in our society for which I consider life imprisonment simply an inadequate societal response," he testified.
Suthers also said that if the legislature wants to abolish the death penalty, it should refer the issue to voters to decide. He pointed to two examples in 1966 and 1974, when Colorado citizens "overwhelmingly voted to keep the death penalty as an option for prosecutors."
Weissmann said he expected strong opposition from attorneys because his bill, if passed, would lessen their billable hours for capital crimes. In 2008, Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers charged the state more than $200,000 for costs associated with trials and convictions where she advocated for the death penalty.
The bill now heads to appropriations with a favorable recommendation after a 7-4 vote along party lines.