---
title: 'Colorado House Committee Advances Bill to Abolish Capital Punishment'
description: 'The Colorado House Judiciary Committee recently voted to abolish the state’s death penalty, replacing it with a sentence of life-without-parole, and use…'
canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/colorado-house-committee-advances-bill-to-abolish-capital-punishment'
section: news
date: '2007-02-08T21:52:54-05:00'
updated: '2025-03-14T14:24:32-04:00'
source: 'Death Penalty Information Center'
---

The **Colorado** House Judiciary Committee recently voted to **abolish** the state's death penalty, replacing it with a sentence of life-without-parole, and use the money currently spent on capital punishment to help solve 1,200 cold-case homicides in the state. The 7-4 vote followed four hours of testimony from murder victims' family members, state law enforcement officials, and death penalty experts, including DPIC Executive Director Richard Dieter. The bill's sponsor, Rep. Paul Weissmann (pictured), noted that during the past three decades, the state has spent an estimated $40 million on the death penalty, has carried out one execution, and has two people on death row. "We in this state spend a lot of money on a death penalty that's rarely used. \[This bill would give\] families an opportunity to have their cases solved," Weissmann noted. The bill now moves to the House Appropriations Committee for consideration.   
 (Rocky Mountain News, February 8, 2007). See [Recent Legislative Activities](/recent-legislative-activity?did=236&scid=40) and [Victims.](/victims-and-death-penalty?did=573&scid=62) [Read ](../article.php?did=573&scid=62)[Richard Dieter's testimony](../COcosttestimony.pdf).