Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Justice System

When grievance overrides justice: The risk of declaring nothing illegal
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

When grievance overrides justice: The risk of declaring nothing illegal

By Michael Hancock | Guest Commentary, Undercurrent How Moral Slogans Collapse the Rule of Law “There is no such thing as illegal on stolen land.” It is a clever slogan—short, moral, and absolute. And like most slogans that aspire to absoluteness, it collapses the moment it is treated as an argument rather than a chant. The claim rests on a simple premise: because land was once taken unjustly, no law exercised upon it today can be legitimate. The conclusion sounds radical, even righteous. In reality, it is neither. It is a logical error masquerading as moral courage—and one with consequences far more destructive than its advocates seem willing to admit. Begin with the historical reality the slogan quietly ignores. There is no land on earth untouch...
Colorado Federal IT Worker Stole $1 Million From Federal Agency Through Fake Invoices
CBS Colorado, Approved, State

Colorado Federal IT Worker Stole $1 Million From Federal Agency Through Fake Invoices

By Logan Smith | CBS Colorado A 55-year-old Colorado man who worked for the federal government was sentenced to prison this week for fraudulently diverting approximately $1 million from his employer for personal use. James Montoya, of Lakewood, was sentenced Tuesday to 41 months behind bars. He was also ordered to repay $1,122,009.47. Montoya was employed as an information technology specialist for the United States Geological Survey, which has offices in Lakewood. He was hired by the agency in 1996 and started working in an IT position in 2002.  A year later, Montoya began falsifying expense reports in order to shift money to personal PayPal accounts, per case documents. The activity wasn't noticed until 15 years later. Then, in 2023, an examination of employe...
Colorado’s “Reform Paradox”: Falling Recidivism, Rising Violence, and the Real-World Cost of Dangerous Releases
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado’s “Reform Paradox”: Falling Recidivism, Rising Violence, and the Real-World Cost of Dangerous Releases

By Shaina Cole | Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The Common Sense Institute’s October report shows Colorado’s three-year recidivism rate falling from about 52 percent in 2019 to near 31 percent in 2022. On paper that looks like improvement. In practice, the number tells only a small piece of the story.  CSI makes it clear that the number drops mostly because fewer people are going to prison at all. The state’s incarcerated population has shrunk, felony filings are down, and more defendants are getting funneled into diversion programs or handed PR bonds under Colorado’s evolving bail practices. When the state isn’t locking people up, fewer people return to prison later. That’s not a public-safety miracle. It’s just the math. Ask people who actually live here whether things...
Federal Judge Overturns Jury’s Verdict, Stirring Outrage in Colorado
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

Federal Judge Overturns Jury’s Verdict, Stirring Outrage in Colorado

By: The Gazette Editorial Board | The Denver Gazette The Trump administration ordered payroll cuts to the bloated federal bureaucracy, and Colorado sued. The administration tried to rein in a runaway budget by paring funding for public broadcasters — which Congress ultimately carried out — and Colorado sued again.  And just this week, a prominent, left-leaning Colorado federal judge lashed out at President Trump’s Justice Department over its “bad faith conduct” — for scheduling an alleged illegal immigrant’s deportation hearing just a day after he challenged his detention in court.  Heavens — we can’t have speedy justice!  In other words, the administration is taking a beating from our state’s ruling class for doing the very things everyday Coloradans have always...
FBI informant exposed as serial killer after years of deception
Fox News, Approved, National

FBI informant exposed as serial killer after years of deception

BY Peter D'Abrosca | FOX NEWS Scott Kimball received 70-year sentence for killing four people while working as confidential informant DENVER – A former FBI agent says a serial killer who doubled as an FBI informant for years manipulated agents into believing he was helping them, all the while preying on unsuspecting victims.  Scott Kimball will likely spend the rest of his life in a federal prison in Colorado after he was sentenced to 70 years in 2009. He pleaded guilty to killing four people between 2003 and 2004, and his number of victims could be much higher, according to former FBI Special Agent Jonny Grusing.  "He made a game out of tricking the FBI," Grusing told Fox News Digital, adding that Kimball's case was unprecedented. "As long as...
Douglas County outrage grows after judge hands out probation in violent crime case
DENVER7, Approved, State

Douglas County outrage grows after judge hands out probation in violent crime case

By: Allie Jennerjahn | Denver7 District Attorney for the 23rd Judicial District and stalking victim "outraged" over judge's decision to only sentence stalker to probation CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — A Douglas County judge is under fire for two separate probation decisions she’s made in just one week. District Attorney for the 23rd Judicial District George Brauchler told Denver7 he’s “outraged” by the ruling, but he never specifically said who the judge was. “I don’t think judges exist in this jurisdiction to do what the DA says. That doesn’t make sense. I don’t think that [ruling] protects defendants appropriately either,” Brauchler said. “My respect for the bench doesn’t mean that I like all of their decisions, and in this particular case, I think this one is too risky for the p...
Violence tied to transgender ideology grows harder to ignore
The Daily Signal, Approved, Commentary, National

Violence tied to transgender ideology grows harder to ignore

By Tyler O’Neil | Commentary, The Daily Signal An increasing number of alleged murderers, mass shooters, and violent offenders have apparently tried to silence Christians or critics of transgender ideology, acting on the assumption that those who disagree with transgender claims represent a violent threat. The tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk only underscores this unnerving trend, and makes the case for the FBI to formally characterize the threat of transgender ideology violent extremism. The Oversight Project and The Heritage Foundation formally called on the FBI Thursday to use its authority under 18 U.S. Code § 2331 to designate this threat, and I wholeheartedly agree. The FBI declined to comment on the subject when approached Friday. That statute defines&...
Utah prosecutors announce sweeping charges against Kirk’s accused assassin
The Epoch Times, Approved, National

Utah prosecutors announce sweeping charges against Kirk’s accused assassin

By Jack Phillips and Janice Hisle | The Epoch Times Tyler Robinson, 22, is accused of shooting and killing Kirk last week at Utah Valley University. PROVO, Utah—Prosecutors on Tuesday unveiled charges against the man accused in the assassination of Charlie Kirk, including a capital murder count. The counts against Tyler James Robinson include aggravated murder charges, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, two obstruction of justice counts, two witness tampering charges, and violent offense committed in the presence of a child, said Utah County Attorney Jeffrey S. Gray in a news conference with dozens of reporters at the Utah County Health & Justice Building in Provo, Utah. “The murder of Charlie Kirk is an American tragedy,” Gray said, expressing his...
Extra $9 million in settlement funds aims to fight opioid crisis locally
gazette.com, Approved, Local

Extra $9 million in settlement funds aims to fight opioid crisis locally

By Savannah Eller | The Gazette With the processing of new settlements, El Paso and Teller counties are expected to receive about $75 million to combat opioid addiction and deaths over the next 18 years — an increase to estimates when the counties created a joint council to disburse funds.  Last year, the Region 16 Opioid Abatement Council figures had the overall total closer to $66 million awarded by 2038. The funding boost is meant to sustain community programs addressing different facets of the opioid epidemic.  "The vast majority has either not been allocated or not been received," said Erik Stone, Teller County commissioner and council vice chair.  The estimate reflects updates in the nationwide legal process to hold major drug manufacturers financ...
Guilty plea exposes scale of child exploitation by Colorado predator
Fox31, Approved, National

Guilty plea exposes scale of child exploitation by Colorado predator

By Heather Willard | Fox 31 DENVER (KDVR) — A 31-year-old man from Colorado pleaded guilty this month in Indiana to dozens of counts related to sextortion of at least 68 children through social media and sex trafficking of at least five of those children. Ryan Austin Lauless, 31, of Colorado, pleaded guilty on Sept. 4 to 21 counts of sexual exploitation of a child, five counts of sex trafficking of a minor, two counts of noticing and advertising child sexual abuse material and possession of child sexual abuse material, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Indiana. Prosecutors say that Lauless used social media apps between late 2019 and May 19, 2023, to coerce, sexually exploit and threaten at least 68 minor victims into producing thousands of sexua...

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