Colorado Legislation Slips Farther Down the Social Justice Ladder

CANON CITY, Colo., Just when it appeared that Colorado would emerge from one of the most regressive and punitive justice systems in the United States, the Rocky Mountain Empire slipped back into the morass that will have long-term negative impacts on the social and business climate of the state.

With the legislative session coming to an end last week it looked like two judicial reform bills were on their way to become law with unanimous support - what a difference a week can make.

The first bill, HB 1421 called for closing one of Colorado's 13 prisons as a cost cutting measure to help reduce the state's significant deficit. In the end: the bill died in session due largely from strong lobbying by lawmakers from Southern Colorado where most of the prisons are located. In these counties prisons are economic plantations and the inmates a continuous cash crop harvested by DOC and the thousands of state employees that profit from their indefinite suffering and incarceration.

The net result was that $260 million was cut from the education budget, while the Department of corrections budget grew by millions. The cities of Denver, Pueblo, and Canon City all opened new confinement facilities while laying-off hundreds of teachers.

The second reform bill, HB 1364 allowed sex offenders on parole to choose their treatment provider from a list of three state certified providers given to them by their parole officer. This is the same method used for other offenders required to take therapy as part of their conditions of parole. The bill also changed a statement in the current law that says there is no cure for sex offenders; the proposed wording changed to, "there is no known cure for certain sex offenders.'' The bill, which would have brought Colorado closer to the same humane treatment philosophy as the rest of the nation, was strongly opposed by Greig Veeder, an outspoken and controversial treatment provider that is often criticized for his unorthodoxly and draconian treatment methods. Despite unanimous support from other state certified treatment providers, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and both chambers of the legislature, Gov. Bill Ritter vetoed the measure saying it required, "further vetting and thorough debate."

The defeat of these two bills ensures that the state will continue to pump billions of dollars into its criminal justice industry at the expense of education and more cost effective rehabilitation programs proven to be successful in other states.