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Tag: Criminal justice

Sheriffs and prosecutors rally behind Michael Allen for attorney general, cite courtroom experience
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Sheriffs and prosecutors rally behind Michael Allen for attorney general, cite courtroom experience

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice A handful of sheriffs and district attorneys from different parts of the state have come out in support of Fourth Judicial District Attorney Michael Allen, today, as he campaigns for Colorado attorney general. The endorsements focus on his years spent in actual courtrooms prosecuting cases and the way he’s managed to cut back on some crimes in his district. The endorsements share his ideals of real trial experience, cracking down on offenders and keeping partisan battles out of the attorney general’s office. “I’m honored to earn the support of these respected law enforcement leaders and prosecutors who have dedicated their careers to public safety. They know what it takes to hold criminals accountable and keep ...
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Rising Inmate Numbers Put Pressure On Colorado To Expand Prison System
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Rising Inmate Numbers Put Pressure On Colorado To Expand Prison System

By: Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado Gov. Jared Polis' budget director, Mark Ferrandino, is sounding an alarm. He says the Colorado Department of Corrections is limiting new admissions as it reaches capacity, and the state needs to open a new facility to house a growing number of inmates. Ferrandino urged Colorado's Joint Budget Committee to approve funding for more beds in the short-term.  "We are going to get to a place, unless the forecasts significantly change, where we are going to need additional capacity," Ferrandino told the committee.  Ferrandino said the state has closed seven prisons over the last 15 years, as Colorado's prison population has dropped by nearly 6,000 inmates. But he says the population is now growing rapidly, and the state...
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Parents Outraged After Child Sex Assault Case Dismissed Under Colorado Competency Law
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Parents Outraged After Child Sex Assault Case Dismissed Under Colorado Competency Law

By: Natalie Chuck, Joe Vaccarelli | Denver7 Denver7 Investigates continues uncovering cases involving violent crimes being dismissed after suspects are found permanently incompetent JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — A 71-year-old man is walking free after he was found incompetent to stand trial and not restorable, forcing a Jefferson County judge to drop charges of sexual assault on a child that had been pending for several years. Robert Dixson was accused of sexually assaulting a child, who was his relative, over the course of three years when the child was between the ages of 7 and 10. Dixson was in his 60s at the time of the alleged crime and faced multiple felony charges. After his arrest, he was evaluated six times and hundreds of attempts were made to improve hi...
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Former Green Mountain High School Psychologist Found Guilty of Sexual Assault on a Child
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DENVER7, Approved, Local

Former Green Mountain High School Psychologist Found Guilty of Sexual Assault on a Child

By: Óscar Contreras | Denver7 GOLDEN, Colo. — A Green Mountain High School psychologist arrested last year on suspicion of sex assault on a child was convicted Monday in connection with the crime and several other charges levied against him. James Michael Chevrier was arrested in May after Lakewood police was made aware of a Safe2Tell tip accusing him of sex assault. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT DENVER7
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One of these scenes is not like the other! 
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Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

One of these scenes is not like the other! 

By Mark Salley | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice A protest is going on.  In Scenario One,  a woman starts to enter a secure area via a broken window. An officer inside the secure area, pulls his gun and shoots the woman dead. In Scenario Two,  a woman has been obstructing officers in their duty to enforce the law. The woman, using her car as a weapon, drives her vehicle toward the officer, hitting him — and being shot dead by the officer. In Scenario One, the female protestor has no weapon and has not been impeding officers in the performance of their duty.   In Scenario Two, the female protestor has a weapon — the vehicle she is driving and is using it to impede and possibly injure officers and bystanders. ...
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Defense reply raises stakes in Peters appeal, asks court to order immediate release
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Defense reply raises stakes in Peters appeal, asks court to order immediate release

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice With oral arguments just days away, Tina Peters’ legal team has raised the stakes in her appeal, filing a reply that no longer asks the Colorado Court of Appeals simply to weigh jurisdiction—but to declare it already lost and order her immediate release. The reply, filed on the Jan. 8 deadline, directly challenges the Attorney General’s position that the court retains authority over the case and frames Peters’ continued imprisonment as unconstitutional.  2026-01-08 A Peters Reply to Peoples ResponseDownload Her attorneys explicitly say the appellate court should find that it lacks jurisdiction and that Peters “must be released from custody forthwith.” The filing follows Peters’ Dec. 23 motion challenging the cou...
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Polis Signals Possible Clemency Review for Tina Peters as Final Year Begins
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Polis Signals Possible Clemency Review for Tina Peters as Final Year Begins

By Shaun Boyd | CBS Colorado Gov. Jared Polis says he has an ambitious agenda for his final year in office. He's been full throttle since he was elected governor seven years ago, leading the state through COVID-19, two school shootings, and four of the most destructive wildfires in Colorado history. "It's hard to sprint. You sprint for 8 years, and that's always the way we've approached it. Our team -- we say we're running through the tape. We're running through the tape here," he said. As he nears the finish line, he is not only focused on the state budget and issues like affordable housing, but also which state prisoners should receive clemency. Among those who have asked the governor for a reduced sentence is former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peter...
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From question to confrontation: Peters’ legal team forces Colorado courts to choose
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Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

From question to confrontation: Peters’ legal team forces Colorado courts to choose

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice One day after the constitutional question facing Colorado courts came into focus, attorneys for former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters moved to force an answer. Late Tuesday, Peters’ legal team filed an urgent motion asking the Colorado Court of Appeals to determine whether it still has jurisdiction to proceed at all, given a presidential pardon and what her attorneys argue are unresolved violations of federal election law. The filing marks a shift from explanation to escalation. Yesterday’s reporting centered on the unresolved authority question now hanging over the case. This motion is the defense’s attempt to compel the court to decide it. It follows a Dec. 8 federal court order that declined to resolve Peters’ constitutional cla...
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Trump Blasts Polis as Weak and Pathetic Over Continued Imprisonment of Tina Peters
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Trump Blasts Polis as Weak and Pathetic Over Continued Imprisonment of Tina Peters

By Jesse Sarles | CBS Colorado President Trump continued to use strong words to describe Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Monday. He's upset about the fact that Tina Peters, the former county clerk and top election official in Mesa County, is still behind bars. Last week, Trump posted to Truth Social that he was pardoning Peters, saying, "Tina is sitting in a Colorado prison for the 'crime' of demanding Honest Elections." READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT CBS COLORADO
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Women Sue Hinge Dating App After Colorado Cardiologist Convicted In Drugging Rape Case
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CBS Colorado, Approved, Local

Women Sue Hinge Dating App After Colorado Cardiologist Convicted In Drugging Rape Case

By Brian Maass | CBS Colorado Six women who say they were drugged and raped by former Denver cardiologist Stephen Matthews plan to file a civil lawsuit in Denver Tuesday against Matthews and the Hinge dating app, which they say allowed Matthews to remain on the app for years, even after women had told Hinge that Matthews was a rapist. "I thought it was unbelievably unacceptable, disrespectful and just horrifying," said one of the women who filed the suit, Alexa, 25, who asked that her last name not be used. She was 22 when she met Matthews via the Hinge app in 2023, but after a date that ended with her believing she was drugged and assaulted, she later learned that another woman had reported Matthews to Hinge as a "rapist" in 2020, then again in 2021, but he ...
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