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Death Penalty Prosecution in Colorado Costs State Over $1.6 Million, Ends in Life Sentence
by Matt Clarke
After spending seven years and more than $1.6 million seeking the death penalty for a prisoner who killed a Colorado prison guard, prosecutors plea-bargained the case for a life sentence. The state is reimbursing the county for the costs of prosecution; the expenses for …
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More from this issue:
- News in Brief
- Ohio Supreme Court Orders Prison Official to Produce Public Records, by Matthew Clarke
- Preliminary Injunction Sought Over Contaminated Drinking Water at Connecticut Prison, by Edward Lyon
- Former Seventh Circuit Judge Posner Founds Short-Lived Project to Help Pro Se Litigants, by Kevin Bliss
- Undiagnosed MRSA Forced Arizona Prisoner to Have Heart Surgery, by Chad Marks
- California Family Mourns Son Who Committed Suicide in Jail, Receives $1.65 Million Settlement, by Edward Lyon
- Wisconsin Pays Another $5 Million for Abuse at Controversial Juvenile Facility, by Kevin Bliss
- Oklahoma Breaks Pattern of Protracted, Expensive Prison Conditions Litigation, by Edward Lyon
- Jury Awards Oregon Prisoner $350,000 After Guard Announces He Was a “PC” Case, by Dale Chappell
- Deaf Oregon Prisoner Awarded $125,000 for Jail’s Failure to Accommodate Disability, by Mark Wilson
- Denver Settles Female Deputies’ Sexual Harassment Lawsuit for $1.55 Million, by Matthew Clarke
- First-Class Mail Insufficient for Mailing Date to be Filing Date in Oregon, by Mark Wilson
- New Georgia Law Provides Protections for Pregnant Prisoners, by David M. Reutter
- Prisoner Co-payments for Health Care Services Eliminated in California, by Chad Marks
- Deaths at Georgia Jail Spur Investigations, Lawsuit, by Edward Lyon
- Oklahomans Pay for Release of Woman Whose Case Helped Start Marijuana Reform Movement, by Matthew Clarke
- Criminal Justice Reformers Apologize for Not Vetting Conference Speaker, by David M. Reutter
- Missouri County Votes to Eliminate Jail Fees, Wiping Out $3.4 Million in Debt for Former Prisoners, by Douglas Ankney
- California Jail Prisoner’s Broken Leg Nets $550,000 Settlement, by Matthew Clarke
- First Major Loss in Recent Challenges to Hep C Treatment for Prisoners, by David M. Reutter
- Securus Technologies Rebrands as Aventiv, by Kevin Bliss
- Rikers Prisoner Smuggles DNA Evidence of Rape Out of Jail; $500,000 Settlement, by Dale Chappell
- New York Court of Claims Orders DOCCS to Turn Over OSI Report, Guards’ Personnel Files, by Dale Chappell
- Rhode Island’s Civil Death Law Bars Prisoners from Filing Lawsuits in State Court, by Dale Chappell
- New York Closes Two More Prisons, Scaring Corrections Workers, by Kevin Bliss
- Government Wants Federal Prisoner’s $250,000 Settlement to Pay Restitution, by Dale Chappell
- Billionaire and Co-Defendant Agree to Donate $1 Million to Stay Out of Jail, by Kevin Bliss
- Missing Property and Overtime Abuse in Illinois Prisons Cost Taxpayers Millions, by Dale Chappell
- Oregon Prisoner’s Preventable Death Reveals Culture of Systemic Indifference, by Mark Wilson
- Lawsuit Filed by Prisoner with Food Allergy is Dismissed, by David M. Reutter
- San Diego County Jails Still No. 1 in Prisoner Deaths, by Douglas Ankney
- Felony Murder Charges Should Not be Used on Juveniles, by Kevin Bliss
- Genesco CEO Denied Term on CoreCivic’s Board of Directors, but Board Refuses His Resignation, by Scott Grammer
- Prisoners, Guards, Students Protest Aramark, by Douglas Ankney
- Pennsylvania Prisoner Given Belt, Then Punished for Having It, by David M. Reutter
- Fifth Circuit Reverses Denial of Qualified Immunity to Prison Officials, by Edward Lyon
- New Mexico: Third-Party Settlement Agreements Resulting from Medical Care Provided by Corizon are Public Documents Subject to Disclosure, by Douglas Ankney
- California AB Prison Gang Members, Others Indicted by Feds
- HRDC Obtains Settlement, $16,000 in Fees and Costs, Against BOP in FOIA Case, by Scott Grammer
- How a 13th Amendment Loophole Created America’s Carceral State, by Flores A. Forbes
- Texas Convict-Leasing Burial Ground Uncovered, by Matthew Clarke
- Tennessee Prisoner Captured After Killing Prison Employee, Escaping, by David M. Reutter
- Florida Women’s Prison Under Scrutiny After Rape by Guard, by David M. Reutter
- California’s Firefighting Prisoners in Short Supply, by Matthew Clarke
- Arizona Court Equates Prison Gang Dropouts with Confidential Informants to Require Redaction of STG Files, by Dale Chappell
- Oregon Passes Historic Juvenile Justice Reform Bill but Refuses to Apply it Retroactively, by Mark Wilson
- South Carolina Prison Industries Employee Fired for Writing Tell-All Book, by Scott Grammer
- Are Re-Enfranchised Florida Felons More Likely to Vote Republican?, by David M. Reutter
- Virginia Circuit Court Awards $197.55 to Prisoner in Property Tort Claim, by Douglas Ankney
- Lawsuit Alleging Denial of Warmth and Sufficient Sleep States Eighth Amendment Claim, by David M. Reutter
- New York District Court Erred in Applying “Three Strike” Rule to Dismissals, by Kevin Bliss
- PLN Prevails in Censorship Suit Against Virginia Jail, by David M. Reutter
- Death Penalty Prosecution in Colorado Costs State Over $1.6 Million, Ends in Life Sentence, by Matthew Clarke
- Private Prison in Pennsylvania Takes Heat; Prison Board Replaced, Superintendent Retires, by David M. Reutter
- In Oklahoma, Lawsuit Options Limited When Prisoners Claim Constitutional Rights Violations, by Quinton Chandler
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- $525,000 Settlement in Minnesota Jail Excessive Force Incident, by Jayson Hawkins
- California Prison Rehabilitation Programs Costly and Ineffective, by Kevin Bliss
- The Other Family Separation: Prisoners Fight to Keep Their Children, by Victoria Law
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Seventh Circuit Grants Qualified Immunity to Detectives Who Revealed Prisoner Was Informant, Denies Him Anonymity, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Holds Federal Law Prohibits County Jail from Forcing Immigration Detainees to Perform Custodial Labor by Threatening Solitary Confinement, Aug. 1, 2026
- New Mexico Supreme Court Holds Corrections Department Regulations Do Not Exempt Use-Of-Force Documents from Public Records Disclosure, Aug. 1, 2026
- DOJ Issues Memorandum Over BOP Employees Abusing Their Law Enforcement Credentials to Illegally Purchase Personal Firearms, Aug. 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Summary Judgment Against Former Illinois Prison Guards Challenging Termination for Violating Use of Force Policy, Aug. 1, 2026
- Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunction Barring Enforcement of Executive Order to Transfer Trans Women Prisoners to Men’s Prisons, Aug. 1, 2026
- Idaho Supreme Court Holds Indigent Parents Have Constitutional Right to Counsel at Public Expense, July 1, 2026
- Free Phone Calls Saved Prisoners and Their Families More than $600 Million, Report Finds, July 1, 2026
- California Appeals Court Holds Defendant Cannot Be Penalized for Failing to Appear at Sentencing When He Was Being Held in Another County’s Jail on Preexisting Charges, July 1, 2026
- SCOTUS Reverses Mississippi Capital Conviction, July 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- Alabama Barred from Executing Prisoner by Nitrogen Hypoxia, July 1, 2026. Totality of Conditions, Eighth Amendment, Death Penalty, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Wrongful Use of Force.
- Idaho Will Recruit Law Enforcement Volunteers for Firing Squad Executions, July 1, 2026. Death Penalty, Method of Execution.
- Texas Executes 600th Prisoner Since Reinstating Death Penalty in 1976, June 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Statistics/Trends, Death Penalty, Mental Retardation/Intellectual Disability.
- Idaho Moves Closer to Firing Squad Executions, May 1, 2026. Death Penalty, State Legislation, Method of Execution, Lethal Injection Method of Execution.
- Trump Approves Firing Squads for Federal Executions, May 1, 2026. Death Penalty, Domestic Violence, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Method of Execution, Hate Crimes.
- Texas Prisoner Declared Innocent 70 Years After Execution, March 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Death Penalty, False Confessions, Eyewitness Identification, Prosecutorial Misconduct.
- Dissenter Excoriates SCOTUS for Denying Certiorari in Challenge to Constitutionality of Nitrogen Hypoxia Execution, Feb. 1, 2026. Death Penalty, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights, Capital Punishment, Cruel and Unusual Punishment, Method of Execution.
- 2025 Was a Deadly Year for Veterans Behind Bars, Jan. 1, 2026. Brain Injury, Death Penalty, Mental Health, Veterans, Mental Health Experts.
- Oklahoma Prisoner Found Unconscious in Cell Hours After Avoiding Execution, Dec. 1, 2025. Public Defenders, Pardons/Clemency, Life without Parole (LWOP), Death Penalty, Effective Assistance of Counsel.
- Missouri Blocks Spiritual Advisors from Prison Pastor’s Execution, Nov. 1, 2025. Pardons/Clemency, Death Penalty, Lethal Injection Method of Execution, Religious Freedom/Worship, Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA).

