State Leaders Put Criminal Rights Ahead of Public Safety
By The Gazette Editorial Board | Commentary, The Gazette
Only days ago, The Gazette editorial board weighed in on how easy it is for dangerous criminal suspects with lengthy records in Colorado to walk free — and never come back — as they supposedly await trial or other court proceedings.
That includes when they are deemed “incompetent” to understand the charges against them — usually, due to presumed mental illness — and at times are released pending psychiatric assessment and treatment to restore their competency.
Even under those circumstances, suspects can wind up going free for good, either because they fail to follow through on outpatient psychiatric care and disappear onto the streets, or, incredibly, they have been found permanently incompetent — and by state law, the char...
