Denver District Attorney Beth McCann on Colorado’s Death-Penalty Repeal

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12:01 The Death Penalty in Context

In the April 2020 episode of Discussions with DPIC, Denver District Attorney Beth McCann (pic­tured) speaks with Death Penalty Information Center Executive Director Robert Dunham about Colorado’s repeal of cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment. McCann was elect­ed DA in 2016, as part of a nation­wide wave of reform-ori­ent­ed pros­e­cu­tors. Both as pros­e­cu­tor and in her eight years in the Colorado leg­is­la­ture, McCann has advo­cat­ed for broad crim­i­nal jus­tice reforms, includ­ing the abo­li­tion of the death penal­ty. In her dis­cus­sion with Dunham, she describes the major soci­etal shift away from cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment, Colorado’s efforts at abo­li­tion, and the role of pros­e­cu­tors in shaping change.

Read the tran­script here.

Denver District Attorney Beth McCann on Colorado’s Death-Penalty Repeal | Death Penalty Information Center

News Brief — Prosecutors Drop Death Penalty in Last Remaining Colorado Capital Prosecution

NEWS (4/​13/​20) — Colorado: Prosecutors in Colorado Springs have dropped the death penal­ty in their mur­der case against Marco Garcia-Bravo in the shoot­ing death of two high school stu­dents, the last remain­ing cap­i­tal pros­e­cu­tion in Colorado since the state abol­ished the death penal­ty on March 23. Parroting lan­guage used by Adams County pros­e­cu­tors when they dropped the death penal­ty against Dreion Dearing on March 30 in the state’s oth­er pend­ing cap­i­tal pros­e­cu­tion, 4th Judicial District Attorney Dan May blamed Governor Jared Polis for May’s deci­sion, call­ing Polis a 13th juror” who would block any death sen­tence with the stroke of the pen.”

On the same day that he signed the bill repeal­ing Colorado’s death penal­ty, Polis also com­mut­ed the sen­tences of the three men on the state’s death row to reflect what is now Colorado law.” The com­mu­ta­tions, Polis said, are con­sis­tent with the abo­li­tion of the death penal­ty in the State of Colorado, and con­sis­tent with the recog­ni­tion that the death penal­ty can­not be, and nev­er has been, admin­is­tered equi­tably in the State of Colorado.”

Veteran Denver cap­i­tal defense lawyer Phil Cherner said, Tonight, for the first time that I can remem­ber, Colorado has no one on death row, no death cas­es on appeal and none pend­ing tri­al.” Despite cap­i­tal pros­e­cu­tions in sev­er­al high-pro­file Colorado mass mur­der cas­es, no jury in the state has vot­ed to impose the death penal­ty since June 2009.

Sources

Lance Benzel, Death penal­ty bid dropped in gang killings of Colorado Springs teens, Colorado Springs Gazette, April 132020.

Denver District Attorney Beth McCann on Colorado’s Death-Penalty Repeal | Death Penalty Information Center

News Brief — Colorado House Votes to Abolish Death Penalty

NEWS (2/​26/​20): The Colorado leg­is­la­ture has sent to the Governor a bill that would prospec­tive­ly abol­ish the state’s death penal­ty. On February 26, 2020, one day after a marathon 12-hour debate on the floor of the House, the Colorado House of Representatives vot­ed 38 – 27 to pass SB 20 – 100 to repeal the state’s cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment statute. The Senate had pre­vi­ous­ly approved the leg­is­la­tion on January 30.

Governor Jared Polis has ten days to sign the bill into law or to veto it. The Governor has pre­vi­ous­ly indi­cat­ed that will sign. Upon sign­ing, Colorado would become the 22nd state to abol­ish cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment, and the tenth since 2004.