Capital Punishment

Photos: Ten prisoners whose death penalties were switched to life

Yesterday's decision by Governor John Hickenlooper to grant murderer Nathan Dunlap a reprieve from the death penalty -- one that will stand as long as Hickenlooper is in office but can be reversed by successors -- doesn't stand alone. As noted by the Death Penalty Information Center, more than 270 d ... More >>

John Hickenlooper gives Nathan Dunlap reprieve from death but doesn't grant clemency

Moments ago, Governor John Hickenlooper announced his decision regarding the scheduled execution of Nathan Dunlap, who was convicted in 1996 of killing four people and seriously wounding a fifth during an assault three years earlier at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant. Rather than granting clemency, as ... More >>

Nathan Dunlap: Mom of victim Ben Grant latest to call for killer to die

We've been covering a clemency bid by Nathan Dunlap, who killed four people at a Chuck E. Cheese in 1993; see our previous coverage below. Yesterday, we shared a letter to Governor John Hickenlooper by a woman who was scheduled to work at the restaurant on the fateful evening but took the night off ... More >>

Nathan Dunlap clemency bid: "No principled reason" to execute quadruple murderer

The decision by attorneys for accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes to enter a not guilty by reason of insanity plea seems motivated mainly by an effort to avoid the death penalty. Those representing Nathan Dunlap, convicted of killing four people at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in 1993, are ... More >>

Edward Montour guilty plea ruling: David Lane on death penalty, James Holmes, "bloody 18th"

At a February hearing, Edward Montour sought to withdraw his guilty plea for a 2002 murder in an effort to avoid the death penalty he'd previously sought. The office of 18th Judicial District DA George Brauchler, who's also seeking death for accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes, argued agains ... More >>

Photos: Ten executions gone horribly wrong

Capitol punishment has made plenty of news in Colorado lately, thanks to a failed attempt to ban the practice and 18th Judicial District DA George Brauchler's pledge to seek seek the death penalty against accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes. But what about when executions go wrong? CU Profe ... More >>

James Holmes's court filing about guilty-plea offer a publicity ploy, prosecution says

Update by Melanie Asmar: Was James Holmes's court filing stating that he was willing to plead guilty to avoid the death penalty a publicity stunt? That's the allegation being made by prosecutors in a response to Holmes's filing (on view below). The filing, they wrote, "appears to be an attempt to ... More >>

Death penalty battle heats up at the State Capitol

In more than eight hours of emotional testimony that stretched well into the evening, activists and faith groups seeking to abolish the death penalty in Colorado squared off against prosecutors and other backers of the ultimate punishment yesterday -- with family members of homicide victims speaking ... More >>

Death penalty: Representative Claire Levy says she is confident a repeal could pass

Before Representative Claire Levy proposes legislation to repeal the death penalty in Colorado, she wants to be sure that it can pass. And after more discussions with her fellow lawmakers on the topic, she says it seems like the momentum is right to get rid of the death penalty -- even if one of h ... More >>

Rep. Rhonda Fields on push to repeal death penalty: "An insult to crime victims"

Representative Rhonda Fields, an Aurora Democrat, generally sides with liberal lawmakers in Colorado. But when it comes to a possible repeal of the death penalty, she is unwavering in her opposition. Getting rid of the death penalty would be an insult to crime victims and ill-timed given recent horr ... More >>

Death penalty: As legislators consider repeal, John Morse says he's now supportive

With the new year comes a new legislative session, and there's already talk about a potential effort to repeal the death penalty in Colorado. And John Morse, a Democrat and the new president of the Senate, says he is likely to support a repeal. This would be a major shift from his previous stance ... More >>

Bob Autobee "drops out" of death penalty battle for son's killer, Edward Montour

Frustrated by a decade of legal delays and setbacks, the father of slain state corrections officer Eric Autobee says that he now opposes further efforts to obtain the death penalty for inmate Edward Montour Jr. for the 2002 murder. In a recent interview, Bob Autobee also blasted the leadership of th ... More >>

Edward Montour: The other death-penalty decision facing the new DA

This week's feature, "Lethal Election," explores how the race for district attorney in the 18th Judicial District has drawn a national spotlight because the winner will have to decide whether to pursue the death penalty in prosecuting James Holmes, the suspect in the Aurora theater shootings. It's a ... More >>

Gary Lee Davis: Colorado's last volunteer for the death penalty

This week's feature, "The Happiest Man on Death Row," delves into Colorado's execution of Joe Arridy, a man with an IQ of 46, for a murder he almost certainly didn't commit. It happened in the 1930s, when the state's gas chamber was kept busy with a string of customers. But times are different now, ... More >>

Eddie Ives's botched execution and replacing the noose with the gas chamber

This week's cover story, "The Happiest Man on Death Row," examines the 1939 execution of Joe Arridy, a Pueblo man with an IQ of 46, for a murder he probably didn't commit -- and the twenty-year battle by author Robert Perske to clear his name. Although the miscarriage of justice in Arridy's case is ... More >>

Aurora theater shooting: Carol Chambers, James Holmes and the death penalty

At his next court appearance, on Monday, suspected Aurora theater shooter James Holmes is expected to be formally charged by a prosecution team fronted by 18th Judicial District DA Carol Chambers. Our Alan Prendergast is an expert on Chambers thanks to feature articles such as "The Punisher," so it' ... More >>

Josiah Sher: Death for accused hit man, or just very expensive trial?

Josiah Sher.​News that Eighteenth Judicial District Attorney Carol Chambers is seeking the death penalty for Josiah Sher, the alleged trigger man in a double-murder-for-hire case in Castle Rock, doesn't exactly come as a shocker. The slayings of Amara Wells and Bob Rafferty were about as coldb ... More >>

Sister Helen Prejean on why Colorado's death penalty is past its expiration date

When you've spent close to three decades as one of America's leading opponents of capital punishment, you develop an understanding of what states truly have the will to execute their condemned. And Sister Helen Prejean, the Dead Man Walking author who's in Aurora tonight for a public talk on vengea ... More >>

Before Ritter, Colorado's governors proved that clemency's risks came with rewards

Mile High Murder: Three's hardly a crowd on Colorado death row after Robert Ray's sentence

Robert Ray. Yesterday, Robert Ray was sentenced to death in connection with the 2005 murders of Javad Marshall-Fields and his fiancee, Vivian Wolfe -- a verdict that duplicated the one previously given to Ray's accomplice, Sir Mario Owens. The ruling brings the population of Colorado's death row to ... More >>

Death-penalty bill: Politicos willing to raise taxes to keep the killing option open

A Flickr photo You've got to admit it was a legislative masterstroke. As a House-passed bill to end capital punishment in Colorado and use the approximately $900,000 in savings to investigate so-called "cold cases" neared a Senate vote, opponents led by Democratic senator John Morse and Republican ... More >>

Is the death penalty worse than life in the hole?

Last week, a bill to end the death penalty in Colorado squeaked through the House of Representatives by one vote; it reaches a Senate committee on Wednesday afternoon, April 29. The abolitionists maintain that execution is too costly and time-consuming and that the money could be better spent fund ... More >>

Death to Sir Mario

AG Bails on Troubled Death Penalty Case

Carol Chambers Seeks Cheaper Executions

Arapahoe County DA Charges Death-Penalty Fees to the State

How does DA Carol Chambers beat the high cost of a death-penalty prosecution? By billing the prison system.

Inmates Waitin' Around to Die

Only one man is on death row, but seven others are waiting in the wings.

Dead Man Walking

Death penalty debate staggers to the theater.

The Hard Cell

The truth may not set you free, but it illuminates The Exonerated.

Student Aid

CU is keeping tabs on Colorado's cold cases.

War and Remembrance

Father Jim Sunderland chose to spend his life as a middleman -- between killers and God.

Death Penalty's Prism

Despite the calls for vengeance, Coyote examines the sad, soulful truth about state-sponsored executions.

To Be or Not to Be

A new Curious Theatre Company production puts the death penalty front and center.

Dead Reckoning

Donta Page's sentence revives Colorado's death-penalty debate -- but brings no closure. The Conclusion of "Penalty Zone."

Shades of Black

Defense attorneys fight to save their clients by comparing them to current residents of death row.

Judge and Jury

With several controversial cases coming up, Colorado's death-penalty decision moves to a three-judge panel.

Letters to the Editor

From the week of June 14, 2001

Murderers' Row

Until two years ago, Colorado juries weighed whether men deserved to die. Now judges decide their fate.

Ghost Story

The truth about what really happened to Holly Andrews still haunts her family.

Triumph of the Chill

Mr. Death shows what evil lurks in the hearts of geeks.

Judgment Day

As judges ponder the fates of Brandy DuVall's murderers, they must measure different shades of black.

The Final Judgment

Two years ago this week, Brandy DuVall was killed by members of the Deuce-Seven gang. For the past month, the courts have been deciding whether her murderers live or die.

Judgment Day

The state's first death-penalty panel meets--and spares the life of Robert Riggan.

The Killer Inside Him

The twisted life--and lethal secrets--of Gary Davis.

The Last Writes

Off Limits

A Fight to the Death

Frank Rodriguez was sentenced to die twelve years ago. Are we there yet?

A Trust Betrayed

Ashley Gray didn't take candy from strangers. She did from her "Uncle Jon."

The Executionee's Song ... and Dance

BRUCE'S GENEROUS PALS