Committee Gives Tentative Approval to Return Death Decisions to Jury Jurors would get back the responsibility for making death penalty decisions under a bill that got tentative approval from a Senate committee today. Sen. Dottie Wham, R-Denver, asked the committee to return to the jury system to decide cases of life and death, saying a jury of peers better represents the community. Representatives tentatively approved House Bill 1234 to allow prosecutors to seek the death penalty for people who kill with weapons they cannot legally possess. The bill adds felony possession of the murder weapon to the list of 14 aggravating factors that a prosecutor considers when deciding whether to seek the death penalty. The presiding judge in a capital murder trial would have the power to impose life or death sentences under a proposal that won support in the Colorado House of Representatives Wednesday.
Critics argue that bill supporters simply want more people executed.
The decision of whether convicted killers should live or die will not be returned to Colorado juries, but a bill shifting the power to the trial judge is still alive in the legislature. I think the people need to be heard on this issue. The decision to impose the death penalty in Colorado should rest with the trial judge instead of the current three-judge panel, a Senate committee said Wednesday. Sen. Pat Pascoe, D-Denver, a death penalty opponent, said the bill appeared to be little more than an attempt to expand the number of people on death row. Denver attorney Maureen Cain said the Colorado Bar Association, the Criminal Defense Bar, the Colorado Trial Lawyers and other attorney groups opposed the change.