Subject: Criminal Trials

• In for Life: Day Four of the Michael Tate Murder Trial

  August 24, 2007

• The Last Juvie to Face Life?

  October 18, 2007

• Profiles in Snitching

  April 7, 2008

• Call Me Crazy

  When the accused reject a not-guilty plea, Colorado's insanity law breaks down.

  January 11, 2001

• Murderers' Row

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

  June 7, 2001

• Shades of Black

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

  June 21, 2001

• Vendetta

  Who's a bigger nuisance -- Douglas Bruce or Denver's property police?

  May 16, 2002

• Trial and Tribulations

  Naim Amini fled Afghanistan to build a new life, a life now lost in the translation.

  November 21, 2002

• Follow That Story

  January 4, 2001

• Colorado's Insanity Cases

  January 11, 2001

• Down and Out

  March 21, 2002

• Flexing His Muscle

  May 26, 2005

• Death Takes a Holiday

  A technicality stalls the state's first decision under a new death-penalty law.

  October 15, 1998

• Judge and Jury

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

  June 14, 2001

• Bad Execution

  April 10, 2008

• 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.

  February 28, 2008

• Killer Instinct

  After Michael Tate lost all hope of a family life, he found the Devil.

  September 20, 2007

• 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?

  February 8, 2007

• Love, American Style

  Illegal immigrant Jon Vaupel is not from Mexico, but he's a borderline case.

  April 13, 2006

• Shades of Guilt

  In the murder trial of Krystal Voss, doubt was everywhere and nothing was reasonable.

  November 25, 2004

• Cowboy Justice

  They ran the toughest cellblock in the most dangerous prison in the state. It was the perfect place to beat inmates.

  June 26, 2003

• System Failure

  Chanda Johnson went to court for protection from her ex-husband. She didn't get it.

  August 29, 2002

• Dead Reckoning

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

  June 28, 2001

• Sight Unseen

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

  March 16, 2000

• Take the Money and Run

  It took sixteen years and international extradition, but the Colorado Attorney General’s Office finally got its man.

  February 3, 2000

• Trials Can Be Murder

  September 30, 1999

• Judgment Day

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

  June 3, 1999

• Dealing with the Devil

  The Deuce-Seven Bloods spin out of control, ripping families apart--including their own.

  March 11, 1999

• 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.

  May 27, 1999

• Judgment Day

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

  May 6, 1999

• Dealing With the Devil

  When the Deuce-Seven Bloods went hunting for a snitch, they shot Venus Montoya instead.

  March 4, 1999

• Under the Knife

  No matter who wins a medical malpractice case, the verdict cuts both ways.

  January 21, 1999

• The Waiting Game

  Robert Riggan's fate was to have been decided this week. Now he's back in line.

  December 17, 1998

• Trial and Tribulations, Part Two

  This is the conclusion of Joanne Cordova's story. For part one, see www. westword.com.

  November 26, 1998

• Bad Company

  They had guns. They were after drugs and cash. What they got was trouble.

  July 9, 1998

• Justice Delayed

  With the right defendant pulling the strings, Colorado's domestic-violence system can be tied into knots. A victim's story.

  June 18, 1998

• The Killer and Mrs. Johnson

  A gruesome crime. A bizarre defense. Can a crusading author reopen her best friend's case?

  March 19, 1998

• Mutual Contempt

  A defense attorney accused of being disrespectful to a judge is off the hook--for now.

  June 12, 1997

• Liar, Liar

  A top DEA informant makes cases--and $200,000 a year--while breaking a few laws himself.

  May 8, 1997

• A Fight to the Death

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

  March 6, 1997

• Beyond Contempt

  A judge and a prosecutor in Gilpin County are after a new breed of criminals: jurors and defense attorneys.

  January 23, 1997

• Motion to Dismiss

  Should Judge Lynne Hufnagel be benched? Ask the bankrupt cabbies, bullied witnesses and banished lawyers who've tasted her bitter brand of justice.

  October 24, 1996

• Trial by Ire

  The candidates in the Denver's DA's race refuse to come to order.

  October 17, 1996

• Jack's Back

  The state had an opportunity to lock up rapist and career criminal Jack Ainsworth for good. Now it's too late.

  July 11, 1996

• Second-Degree Burn (Part I)

  Cher Elder's family knew all about Thomas Luther. The jury didn't.

  February 29, 1996

• WAR OF THE WORDS

  HOW AN EAGER DA TRANSFORMED A NEIGHBORHOOD SPAT INTO A HEADLINE-GRABBING HATE CRIME.THE HATING GAME WHEN THE ARONSONS TALKED, THE JEFFCO DA LISTENED. BIG MISTAKE.

  August 9, 1995

• THE ORIGINAL GANGSTER RAP

  THE DEFENDANT IN ONE OF DENVER'S EARLIEST MURDERS SEEKS A NEW TRIAL.

  January 4, 1995

• Seven unanswered questions about the trial of Angie Zapata's killer

  May 28, 2009

• Mile High Murder: Kevin Stunes convicted of murdering girlfriend Nancy Bannock last Thanksgiving

  View Larger Map This just in from the Adams County District Attorney's Office. Late yesterday, Kevin Duane Stunes was convicted of first-degree murder for killing Nancy Bannock last Thanksgiving at 1616 E. 78th Avenue, an area captured in the graphic above (if you have problems seeing the image, click "View Larger Map"). The sentence: life in prison without the possibility of parole. Read the DA's press release after the jump.

  August 7, 2009

• Cory Voorhis on reported perjury by ICE agent

  Cory Voorhis.​"Tony Rouco is really a small piece of the puzzle," former U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Cory Voorhis says about an ICE supervisor who reportedly gave false testimony under oath. "It's most obvious that the wrongdoing is at some level higher." In some respects, the Voorhis case seems like ancient history. After all, it revolves around an ad by 2006 Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez that attacked Democratic nominee Bill Ritter with information V

  October 8, 2009