The par­ents of a slain cor­rec­tions offi­cer in Colorado have asked to tes­ti­fy in oppo­si­tion to a death sen­tence for their son’s alleged killer, but pros­e­cu­tors have chal­lenged their right to inter­vene. Eric Autobee​’s (pic­tured) par­ents say that their son ​“would not have want­ed some­one killed in his name.” Prosecutors main­tain Colorado law only allows vic­tim impact state­ments to dis­cuss the harm that result­ed from the crime. The Autobees, in a court fil­ing quot­ing Colorado law, argue that a vic­tim has the right ​“to ade­quate­ly and rea­son­ably express his or her views’ regard­ing ​‘the type of sen­tence which should be imposed by the court.’ ” (empha­sis in orig­i­nal). Kate Lowenstein of Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights agreed, ​“Disagreeing with the pros­e­cu­tor – oppos­ing the death penal­ty when the pros­e­cu­tor is seek­ing a death sen­tence – should not mean that you are silenced.”

(A. Cohen, ​“When Victims Speak Up in Court — in Defense of the Criminals,” The Atlantic, January 28, 2014). See Victims and Arbitrariness.

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