Carol Chambers

Andrew Terry gets 202 year habitual-criminal jolt after drunkenly running over officer's foot

In cover stories like "Welcome to Arapahell," Alan Prendergast has written about Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers' frequent use of the "big bitch," aka habitual criminal charges that can double or triple an offender's sentence. Chambers is now gone, replaced by Dave Young, but she la ... More >>

Arapahoe County's district attorney race could prove a lethal election

See also: James Holmes case exploited on Facebook by district attorney candidate?

James Holmes case: Prosecutors' case for motive, not insanity

This afternoon's hearing in relation to the James Holmes/Aurora theater shooting case is expected to be among the most important to date. The session revolves around defense efforts to keep under wraps communication between Holmes and Dr. Lynne Fenton, the psychiatrist who'd been caring for him -- i ... More >>

James Homes case: Why the delay in ruling about CU educational records?

At a hearing last Thursday related to the James Holmes/Aurora theater shooting case, Judge William Sylvester said he hoped to rule by Monday about whether prosecutors should have access to the suspect's University of Colorado educational documents. However, a decision on that matter hasn't been made ... More >>

Aurora theater shooting: Judge makes CU records off-limits days before doc release

On Wednesday, we shared reports that suspected Aurora theater shooter James Holmes had sent a CU psychiatrist a notebook of attack plans and drawings. But if it exists, that item is off-limits, and so are all other typically public records related to the grad student under an order signed by Judge W ... 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 >>

James Holmes: Inside the courtroom with shock-haired Aurora theater shooting suspect

Update:James Holmes, the 24-year-old suspect in the Aurora theater shooting, walked slowly into a packed, wood-paneled courtroom this morning to be advised of his rights. He wore a maroon jumpsuit, but the most shocking thing about his appearance was his hair, which was a bushy tumble of neon orang ... More >>

Jeramie Gerhardt gets jail time, probation in Mayhem concert assault

Jeramie Gerhardt, one of two men charged in an assault on another concert-goer during the 2010 Mayhem Festival at the Comfort Dental Amphitheatre, was sentenced last week in Arapahoe County District Court to 75 days in jail and four years of probation for his role in the incident -- while Eric Swans ... More >>

George Brauchler vs. Leslie Hansen: Attacks intensify in DA race

One of the few hotly contested primary races in Colorado elections this year is the brawl between Leslie Hansen and George Brauchler over who will be the Republican candidate for district attorney in the 18th Judicial District, vying to succeed Carol Chambers as top prosecutor in one of the state's ... More >>

"Big Bitch" policy divides DA candidates George Brauchler, Leslie Hansen

This week's feature, "Sucker Punch," traces how an assault at a heavy metal concert turned into a habitual criminal prosecution in Arapahoe County, with one of the defendants facing a mountain of time while the other got probation. In the three-way race for district attorney in the 18th Judicial Dis ... 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 >>

The Big Bitch

The secret behind long sentences handed out to repeat offenders in the 18th Judicial District

Habitual criminal policy: Who's going away for a long, long time?

This week's cover story, "Welcome to Arapahell," examines Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers's frequent filing of habitual criminal charges against repeat offenders, which can triple or quadruple the length of a prison sentence. While other district attorneys use the habitual criminal ... More >>

12-year-old sexual abuser moves back home after treatment, victims' families not notified

Roxborough.​When child sexual abusers return to their old neighborhood, the families of young victims are supposed to be notified in advance, so they have some time to ready themselves and prepare their kids. But that didn't happen in the case of a twelve-year-old who came home just seven mont ... More >>

DA Carol Chambers under fire for giving witness a car in death-penalty case

Sir Mario Owens​Attorneys for Sir Mario Owens, sentenced to death for the 2005 murders of Vivian Wolfe and Javad Marshall-Fields, claim that Eighteenth Judicial District Attorney Carol Chambers and her prosecutors made several unusual deals with witnesses in the secrecy-shrouded case -- includ ... More >>

Letters: "It seems as if every Colorado law-enforcement office is full of people who care absolutely nothing about the facts"

Carol Chambers: Is bonus pay for felony convictions about justice, or just us?

Carol Chambers.​News that Eighteenth Judicial District Attorney Carol Chambers is paying bonuses to prosecutors who achieve a certain percentage of felony convictions at trial may be raising eyebrows among other DAs, but it's hardly a shocker to anyone who's followed Chambers' other efforts to ... More >>

Boys play with lighters and face arson charges, parents feel burned

Reader: Carol Chambers's pursuit of long prison sentences for 1st time offenders costs plenty

Jacob & mom.​Alan Prendergast followed his initial story about tween Jacob Christenson, who faces a second-degree arson charge in Douglas County for a fire set last May, with a suggestion that district attorney Carol Chambers talk publicly about the case. Thus far, however, this invite has onl ... More >>

LaLa Vazquez's valentine to Denver: Kenny Be's Playing Cupid

Lovely LaLa Vazquez.​ It pains my heart to see strained relationships. Why can't everyone just get along? Since it's the season of love, I've created Kenny Be Valentine's cards, intended to calm the cantankerous and help bring impassioned parties together. Below, LaLa's heartfelt offer of love ... More >>

Ray Wagner: Inmate gets a year in the hole for refusing to lie in death-penalty case?

Ray Wagner​Last month's "not guilty" verdict in the murder trial of inmate Alejandro Perez put an end to six years of costly missteps and setbacks for Eighteenth Judicial District Attorney Carol Chambers and her team of prosecutors, who'd set out to get the death penalty in a murky prison homi ... More >>

Letters: Readers love Calhoun's mentoring story

Alejandro Perez verdict: A stunning rebuke of Carol Chambers' death-penalty chase?

Alejandro Perez​Last week's acquittal of Alejandro Perez in the murder of another inmate at the Limon Correctional Facility provides fresh ammo for critics of Eighteenth Judicial District Attorney Carol Chambers, whose determination to seek the death penalty for a prison gang homicide has resu ... More >>

Jacob Christenson arson case: Denver Post backpedals on story, confused about kid stuff

Jacob & Mom.​Cloaked in secrecy, juvenile court matters are so rarely covered in Colorado that it's been instructive watching the Denver Post fumble a bit in its reporting on Jacob Christenson, the eleven-year-old in Parker charged with second-degree arson over a fire that caused $195,000 in d ... More >>

Carol Chambers and the Jacob Christenson "arson" case: Let's talk

Mom & Jacob​Prosecutors are fickle creatures. Ask them about some case that isn't high-profile enough to make headlines, and they'll probably tell you that they can't discuss it -- and it's none of your business anyway. But sic a few TV cameras and talk shows on them, and of course they're h ... More >>

David Bueno murder conviction vacated: 18th Judicial District asst. district attorney fires back

David Bueno.​Last week, we told you about the vacating of a murder conviction for David Bueno, a prisoner found guilty of killing a fellow con in 2004. In the piece, attorney David Lane accused the 18th Judicial District DA's office, led by Carol Chambers, of hiding evidence in the case, descr ... More >>

David Bueno murder conviction vacated: Carol Chambers's office hid evidence, says David Lane

David Bueno.​"Arapahoe County DA Charges Death-Penalty Fees to State," a February 2008 feature by Alan Prendergast, spotlighted the prosecution of David Bueno, one of two cons charged with killing a fellow prisoner in 2004. District Attorney Carol Chambers sought the death penalty against Buen ... More >>

Death-penalty prosecutors want to kill David Lane's rhetoric in regard to trying to kill Edward Montour

David Lane has a way with four-letter words -- like "kill."​In the battle over resentencing Edward Montour Jr., an inmate who faces possible execution for the 2002 murder of a corrections officer at the Limon prison, defense attorney David Lane has accused the death-penalty team of prosecutors ... More >>

DA Carol Chambers: Avoiding the inevitable

Carol Chambers. As Westword's Alan Prendergast has reported in a series of blogs, Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos Samour Jr. has ordered district attorney Carol Chambers to appoint a special prosecutor in the case of Julie Stene, who says she was sexually assaulted after a 2000 high school gr ... More >>

Judge to DA Carol Chambers: Get cracking

18th Judicial District Attorney Carol Chambers Julie Stene has waited nine years for her day in court, and Arapahoe County District Judge Carlos Samour Jr. figures that's long enough. Denying a reluctant district attorney's effort to further delay filing charges in a 2000 rape investigation that t ... More >>

Judge to DA Chambers: rape case decision "arbitrary, capricious"

Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers. An Arapahoe County judge has issued a scathing order calling for a special prosecutor in a sexual assault case, while at the same time describing the local district attorney's excuses for failing to pursue the controversial case for the past nine ye ... More >>

Carol Chambers, the death penalty and the 7-Eleven slaying

Dale Wayne Baylis. It's been a good news-bad news week for Arapahoe County District Attorney Carol Chambers. As one of the state's most zealous officials when it comes to pushing for the death penalty, as documented in "Arapahoe County DA Charges Death-Penalty Fees to the State," Alan Prendergast's ... More >>

The Westword.com blog shortcut, May 8, 2009

Photo by Adam PerryThey're not quite Dead... Big as life. Today in Backbeat Online: • Last night: The Dead at the Pepsi Center. • The 38th annual CHUN Capitol Hill People's Fair line-up announced. • 3OH!3 breaks top ten on Billboard Hot 100. • Freaky Friday: "Obama Flashback" -- Autotune t ... More >>

CU in Court

Back on the case of the CU sex-recruiting scandal

Westword's Alan Prendergast takes you behind the scenes of his Carol Chambers reporting

Alan Prendergast is at the center of a recent "How I Got That Story" feature. The Association of Alternative Newsweeklies is an organization devoted to publications like this one -- and to good writing in general. To that end, AAN has created a regular feature dubbed "How I Got That Story," in ... More >>

No Republican is safe -- not even Carol Chambers

Death to Sir Mario

AG Bails on Troubled Death Penalty Case

Life in the Florence Prison: It's a Riot

Bad Execution

A judge removes DA Carol Chambers from a death-penalty case -- and blasts prosecution misconduct.

Profiles in Snitching

Westword Now Exhibit A in Death Penalty Tussle

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.

The Hush-Hush World of Attorney-Attorney Privilege

DA Chambers Speaks Out(rageous) -- Again

Letters to the Editor

From the week of 2/22/2007

A Thumb on the Scales

The DA weighs in on the wrong case.

The Punisher

Censured but defiant, Carol Chambers goes after habitual criminals -- and cops, judges and lawyers -- like no other district attorney. But at what cost?

Sight Unseen

Carole Abbott was an expert witness in child sex-abuse cases. What she witnessed at home was a different matter.