January 2020 | Death Penalty Legislative Update

The new year started off strong with a number of death penalty bills introduced into state legislatures across the country. Below you’ll find highlights of the legislation Catholic Mobilizing Network is watching closely. 

Colorado
MARCH 2020 UPDATE: On February 26, 2020, the Colorado state House passed Colorado’s death penalty repeal bill with a vote of 38 to 27. The bill is currently waiting to be signed into law by Governor Jared Polis. 
On January 30, the Colorado Senate passed a bipartisan abolition bill by a vote of 19-15. The bill now moves to the House for consideration. 
The Senate has historically been an obstacle to death penalty repeal as recently as in the 2019 repeal effort. However, the tides have turned, as evidenced by the three Republicans who voted for this year’s abolition bill.
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Repeal in Colorado has a strong chance in 2020. Robust support for repeal from both lower chambers as well as an indication from Governor Jared Polis that he will sign a such a bill into law offers an encouraging start to 2020 for the death penalty abolition movement. 
Colorado has been under a governor-imposed death penalty moratorium since 2013. The state currently has three people on death row, with a striking back story: All of the men on Colorado’s death row are African-American men from the same county, who attended the same high school.