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Tears spilled over death penalty bill

Measure would shift funds to help solve cold cases

By Ed Sealover, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 24, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.

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Dianne Harrell holds a photograph of her son, Bruce, during emotional testimony Monday on House Bill 1274. Bruce Harrell was shot and killed at age 21 on Jan. 11, 2006, his mother's birthday. His slaying remains unsolved.

Photo by Javier Manzano © Special To The Rocky

Dianne Harrell holds a photograph of her son, Bruce, during emotional testimony Monday on House Bill 1274. Bruce Harrell was shot and killed at age 21 on Jan. 11, 2006, his mother's birthday. His slaying remains unsolved.

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The idea of abolishing the death penalty in Colorado and using the money it takes to prosecute such cases to solve so-called cold cases stirred debate in a House committee late into the night Monday.

House Majority Leader Paul Weissmann, D-Louisville, revived his bill that just missed passing the House in 2007. The threat of death does not deter people from committing murders, he said, and the $370,000 spent to prosecute those cases could be better spent on investigating unsolved murders.

Since 1967, Colorado has executed one person and there are only two people on death row, Weissmann said. During that time, there have been 1,435 unsolved homicides.

Since the early 1980s, the national clearance rate for murder cases has dropped from 80 percent to 62 percent, said University of Colorado sociology professor Michael Radelet, who has written seven books on the death penalty.

A parade of family members of murder victims went before the House Judiciary Committee asking for more public resources.

Diane Reichert said that after high school friend Constance Paris was abducted, raped and killed in 1968, six other women disappeared or were killed in the same area. If investigators had more money and resources, the killer may have been caught and some women may be alive, she said.

Dianne Harrell burst into tears and begged the committee to put more into solving cold cases like that of her son, Bruce, who was killed in 2006 while driving home from a Denver Nuggets game.

"I am hurting. I hurt every day. And I want something done," Harrell told the committee. "I want justice for my son. I don't want to see my money used to house someone on death row when the money could be used to take care of my son's case."

But several opponents of Weissmann's bill said it's based on a false argument.

Attorney General John Suthers noted that the Homicide Assistance Unit that works to solve and prosecute death penalty cases also has assisted 19 of the state's 22 judicial districts with cold cases.

Colorado Bureau of Investigation Director Ron Sloan said that a Cold Case Task Force formed in 2007 is nearing the point where it will bring together federal, state and local analysts to review cases that are referred to it.

Plus, Suthers said, there are times when the possibility of receiving the death penalty is necessary to deter crimes. Those include instances in which someone who has been sentenced to or is facing life in prison might want to kill witnesses or commit an act of terrorism, he said.

"I personally believe that all the discussion about resources is trumped up," Suthers said. "Justice costs money. And we're not turning everybody out of the Colorado Department of Corrections because it costs a lot of money to (incarcerate them)."

The discussion often broke down along religious lines. People representing religious groups said imposing the death penalty amounted to playing God, while Rep. Steve King, R-Grand Junction, quoted St. Thomas Aquinas' defense of the death penalty.

A committee vote was expected late Monday.

sealovere@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5438

Comments

  • February 24, 2009

    2:42 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Rangerjoe1 writes:

    If our politicians would just enforse the laws on the book the death penalty would deter. See politicians that why we have LAWS. If you enforse the laws it will deter crime, that politician from louisvilles went to school to long.

  • February 24, 2009

    6:48 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    eaglehawk writes:

    I have mixed feelings concerning the death penalty... On one hand, I think life w/o parole is a great punishment, and on the other, what is say the "bleeding hearts" won't bag the release of the perp at some point in the future... But, I believe that the best and most fitting punishment would be life w/o parole - 23 hours of isolation with an hour of exercise. They've earned it.

  • February 24, 2009

    7:09 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    Cowboy63 writes:

    No matter where you personally stand on the Death Penalty - it is an issue for the voters to decide. If you want to do away with it - put it on the next ballot and let the people speak.

  • February 24, 2009

    7:34 a.m.

    Suggest removal

    SockRayBlue writes:

    Common sense will set things right.

    Reinforce the rights of the law abiding and let the death penalty be dealt with on a one-on-one basis. A District Attorney is the one that decides if a case is to go forward or not.