Under a Bridge

Colorado Department of Corrections Condemns Man to Live Under a Bridge

Colorado Springs, Colo., Scott Beecham a former inmate with the Colorado Department of Corrections, was paroled Thursday under a highway bridge here.

The homeless parolee was driven to the bridge by his parole officer and told that is where he must live -- indefinitely. To make sure Beecham remains under the bridge, the parole officer placed a GPS ankle monitor on the parolee and told him he must remain under the bridge from 6:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., nightly.

Beecham was taken to his new home with only a light coat, no blankets, bedding, or warm clothing. He scraped out a sleeping platform with his hands from the hard packed dirt and rubble under the bridge. Overnight temperatures have been in the 20s since Beecham’s release.

The bridge does not have running water or latrine facilities, if Beecham leaves his bridge home to use a bathroom or search out a drink of water his parole can be violated, and he would be taken back to prison. While living under a bridge, Beecham is required to make daily job searches.

A DOC spokesman told the Colorado Springs NBC affiliate, the state agency had no other place to take the man. The spokesman would not comment on how many others have been forced to live in the dirt under local bridges.

In a related story, the Colorado Springs City Council voted 8 to 1 to evict a homeless community living on public land inside city limits. To encourage the homeless to move, the council also banned camp fires on the land, making the freezing nights uncomfortable -- if not life-threatening.