Approved

By Marianne Goodland | The Denver Gazette The Polis administration is asking for hundreds of millions of dollars to expand the state’s prison system, just as Colorado’s legislators are bracing for a worsening fiscal outlook. The request sets up a clash over priorities at a time when the state faces a nearly $1.5 billion shortfall. The administration is seeking to add prison beds amid overcrowding, though advocates on both sides of the spectrum disagree over its cause. Some advocates have argued that the crisis is partly the result of a backlog of inmates awaiting parole placement. Others maintained that the “crisis” resulted from Democrats’ policies that ultimately seek to release offenders back into communities. On Wednesday, the governor asked budget writers f...