Yesterday, Gov. Jared Polis put the final signature in place on a multi-year effort to rid Colorado of the death penalty. The Rocky Mountain state is the 22nd to repeal the death penalty and the 10th state to repeal in the past 13 years. This contributes great momentum to the movement to wipe out capital punishment state by state.
“Colorado can be proud today,” said Shari Silberstein, EJUSA’s executive director. “With Gov. Polis’s signature, the state liberated itself from one of the most glaring failures of the legal system and is charting a new path toward justice. Instead of wasting millions of dollars every year, the state can focus on the healing that survivors of violence need while also working toward making families and communities safe by preventing future violence.”
The campaign gained steam in January when the Senate, via a bipartisan vote, passed its repeal bill. Colorado’s House debated deep into the night before passing its own bill in late February.
“On two separate occasions, more than a dozen families of murder victims testified before lawmakers about why they wanted the death penalty gone,” said Sarah Craft, director of the Death Penalty program. “They presented a letter from more than 65 victim’s family member. They talked about their loved ones. They described tragedy. They cried through the pain they still feel. And they said with conviction that an execution wouldn’t make the pain go away.”
EJUSA’s work is rooted in building bridges across ideology, culture, and experience to reimagine and rebuild the justice system that we want to see. Repeal in Colorado was a grassroots effort powered by local groups and activists dedicated to a new justice system. “We are proud that we could work with and support the ACLU of Colorado, Coloradans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty, and the Victim and Offender Mitigation Initiative,” said Sarah. “They made this historic day happen.”
Thank you for standing with us as we topple the death penalty in the U.S., one state at a time.
