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Colorado Denies Petition to Decrease Incarcerated Population

Colorado Denies Petition to Decrease Incarcerated Population

Colorado Supreme Court

The Colorado Supreme court have denied an advocacy group’s petition to depopulate Colorado jails during the coronavirus pandemic. The court denied the suits on Friday, the same day they were purposed, with no explanation for their decision, according to court documents.

The coalition hoped to slow the spread of the virus to prison populations who are at higher risk. They also asked for a directive that lower courts would help safely reduce the number of incarcerated people during the pandemic.

“COVID-19 poses an imminent public health threat to people who are incarcerated, who are disproportionately vulnerable to the virus, where social distancing is impossible, and with facilities that do not have adequate medical care to meet these needs,” State Public Defender Megan Ring said in the news release. “Colorado’s judicial leadership must protect inmates, correctional staff, and the public by providing guidance to all Colorado judges to assist in depopulating jails during this pandemic.”

Gov. Jared Polis took executive action last month to lower jail populations, but the petitions asked the Colorado Supreme Court to “translate this guidance into real action throughout all Colorado courts in every county.” Locally elected sheriffs are said to already be taking necessary actions to lower their incarcerated populations to protect both jail staff and the inmates for whom they are responsible. Police agencies are using summonses rather than arrests whenever public safety allows.

In the 18th Judicial District, the average, daily population at the Arapahoe County jail is down to 750 inmates from the 1,100 the facility housed prior to COVID-19 efforts. The populations at the jails in Douglas, Elbert, and Lincoln counties are down 25 percent since the beginning of the month. But the petitioners, made up mostly of the Colorado Criminal Defense Bar, the Office of Alternate Defense Counsel, and Office of the State Public Defender, fear this is not enough.

“Those housed in county jails are not hotel guests or patrons of a cruise at sea. They are incarcerated because they have either committed a crime worthy of taking away their liberty, or they are accused of a serious crime and pose a significant risk to the community,” said District Attorney George Brauchler. “Neither of those facts is diminished by the existence of COVID 19. The community is not safer or healthier when we force those who pose the greatest risk to our safety back into our neighborhoods while we are shut in at home.”

Colorado has an incarceration rate of 635 per 100,000 people (including prisons, jails, immigration detention, and juvenile justice facilities), meaning that it locks up a higher percentage of its people than many world democracies do and is in fact just shy of the United States’ overall incarceration rate.

While other states and local municipalities are taking steps to lower jail and prison populations, the Colorado state government has taken measures to arrest fewer people. State prisons are filled with people who have preexisting conditions and are at higher risk for serious infection.

In most states, incarcerated people are expected to pay $2 to $5 copays for physician visits, medications, and testing. Because incarcerated people typically earn 14 to 63 cents per hour, these charges are the equivalent of charging a free-world worker $200 or $500 for a medical visit. The result discourages medical treatment and puts public health at risk. In 2019, some states recognized the harm and eliminated these co-pays. Colorado is one of many states that have chosen to suspend all co-pays for respiratory, flu-related, or COVID-19 symptoms.

District Attorney George Braucher referred to Friday’s petition as “scare tactics to coax unneeded mandates” and “politically motivated.” “The Chief Justice was right to allow individual jurisdictions, including the sheriffs elected, to manage county jails, to deal with this issue in a way that best fits their specific situation and resources, even if it doesn’t match the criminal defense attorney-favored suggestions. Local control continues to be the best answer,” Braucher added in a press release.

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