Letters to the editor
Colorado politics
COOMBS and MARCANO: The crime of punishment — Senate Bill 62 makes Colorado safer for everyone
By ALISON COOMBS AND JUAN MARCANO, Aurora council members | April 22, 2021
When we think of Elijah McClain, Michael Marshall, George Floyd and countless people of color killed over biased perceptions and inconsequential offenses, we hear the words of Rev. Spencer Lamar Booker, whose brother Marvin was also killed by police: “If they haven’t done any harm, don’t be alarmed.” It is not enough to say their names and make performative promises. In this moment of reckoning with respect to racial justice it’s time for those of us who are in positions of power to join in solidarity, be the bold leaders we were elected to be, and support Senate Bill 62.
Colorado politics
OPINION: The rich pay bail while the poor stay in jail
By Javier Mabrey, Attorney, Colorado Eviction defense Project and candidate for State House District 1|Apr 21, 2021
"Senate Bill 21-062 is an essential step toward ending the criminalization of poverty in Colorado. Lawmakers concerned with racial and economic justice should do everything in their power to pass a clean version of this bill. In the words of Bryan Stevenson, we live in a country that treats you better if you are rich and guilty than if you are poor and innocent. The rich can afford bail and walk free while they await trial, and the poor are forced to go to jail."
Daily Camera
Guest Opinion: Rebecca Wallace: Speaking truth about SB62
By Rebecca Wallace, Senior Staff Attorney & Senior Policy Counsel at the ACLU of Colorado | April 19, 2021
“I have to believe that the people of this state, including the residents of Boulder, are ready to move on from an era where elected leaders rely on made up facts and fearmongering to justify their policy positions.”
Denver Post
Editorial: Police need to approach most suspects assuming they will not need to make an arrest
By THE DENVER POST EDITORIAL BOARD |April 18, 2021
“Police need to get the message from Colorado lawmakers that for most of their work, arrests are not necessary. Senate Bill 62 sends that message loud and clear by telling police officers to use their judgment to assess whether those suspected of non-violent offenses pose a threat to society. We ask police officers to make life and death decisions every day; we can ask them to articulate their assessments for the threat to the community when making an arrest too.”
Daily Camera
Guest Opinion: Claire Levy: A carefully crafted jail reform bill
By Claire Levy Boulder County Commissioner | April 16, 2021
“Poverty is the common denominator for who is in jail on any given day. Not dangerousness. Not severity of crime. Simple poverty. In this form of debtors’ prison, people with money are free pretrial, and people without money are jailed.”
Daily Camera
Guest Opinion: Jude Landsman: Progressive jail reform
By Jude Landsman| April 13, 2021
“Incarceration disrupts families, disrupts finances, batters souls, and cannot provide much needed mental health services. Out of sight does not translate to out of mind for those with loved ones incarcerated for minor offenses. As a nation we are dealing with the consequences of long-standing systemic racism–in schools, in jails, in economic opportunities. SB21-062 is a proactive step addressing unnecessary and excessively punitive consequences of the criminal justice system on lives.”
Denver Post
OPINION: Colorado must address mass incarceration and racial disparities in police arrests
REPRESENTATIVE ADRIENNE BENAVIDEZ and REPRESENTATIVE JENNIFER BACON | April 12, 2021
“It seems ludicrous to have to say it but — no — under SB 62, police would not be legally obligated to give a pass to people who: “commit robbery; assist murderers and child rapists; illegally possess bombs; torture and mutilate cats and dogs; illegally make and sell methamphetamine or heroin; contribute to the delinquency of our children; … drive drunk… and many, many more crimes.” If SB 62 did what Brauchler alleges in his column, it wouldn’t have our support, much less the support of the Colorado Attorney General, the Colorado Department of Public Safety, and several elected district attorneys.”
The Sentinel Colorado
LETTERS: Reducing jail populations will make stronger, safer communities
Sharletta Evans| Letter to the Editor | April 8, 2021
“As a survivor of the most devastating crime, I know that the solution to crime is not to invest more of our resources into mass incarceration, and I am tired of hearing law enforcement speak on behalf of survivors when they argue that more police and more prisons will protect us. It didn’t protect Casson or the many other crime victims in my community.”
The Gazette
GUEST COLUMN: Protecting the public -- and presumption of innocence
By Pete Lee | Mar 30, 2021
“Let me be clear: SB21-62 will neither impair officers’ ability to protect communities nor cause an increase in crime. If that were the case, I would not support it nor would the Colorado attorney general, the Colorado Department of Public Safety and several district attorneys. What SB21-62 actually does is reserve jail beds for dangerous people rather than people who happen to be poor.”
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