Follow That Story

Sexual misconduct at Denver women's prison: Why is the claimed rate so high?

By Alan Prendergast Fri., May 17 2013 at 12:30 PM
Categories: Follow That Story, News, Politics, Prison Life

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A new government report on the rate of sexual victimization in America's jails and prisons lists the Denver Women's Correctional Facility as having the highest rate of sexual assault and misconduct by staff of any lockup in the nation -- four times the national average, in fact. That figure is dismaying state corrections officials, already reeling from parole snafus and the murder of prison chief Tom Clements.

It may also be more than slightly misleading.

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News

Nathan Dunlap clemency bid: "No principled reason" to execute quadruple murderer

By Michael Roberts Wed., May 8 2013 at 12:50 PM
Categories: News, Prison Life

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More photos below.
The decision by attorneys for accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes to enter a not guilty by reason of insanity plea seems motivated mainly by an effort to avoid the death penalty.

Those representing Nathan Dunlap, convicted of killing four people at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in 1993, are taking a different tack. They're asking Governor John Hickenlooper to grant clemency based on factors such as mental illness, his troubled upbringing and the "broken" death penalty system.

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Prison Life

Troy Anderson: Are prisoner's conditions worse since winning supermax lawsuit?

By Alan Prendergast Wed., May 8 2013 at 10:54 AM
Categories: Follow That Story, Politics, Prison Life

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Troy Anderson.
Troy Anderson, a mentally ill inmate at Colorado's supermax prison, won a landmark decision last summer when a federal judge ruled he's entitled to at least three hours a week of fresh air and outdoor exercise. Now, Anderson's attorneys claim Department of Corrections officials have failed to comply with several key aspects of the court order -- and that their client is worse off than before, with less effective mental health treatment, following a transfer from the supermax to solitary confinement at the Sterling Correctional Facility.

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Prison Life

Crowley inmates settle riot lawsuit for $600,000

By Alan Prendergast Wed., Apr. 24 2013 at 12:49 PM
Categories: Colorado Crimes, Follow That Story, Prison Life

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Bill Trine.
On the eve of a 25-week trial that promised to focus on claims of poor training and worse management, the nation's largest private prison company has reached a settlement with nearly 200 former inmates over a 2004 riot at the Crowley County Correctional Facility in southeastern Colorado. The uprising, which plaintiffs' attorney Bill Trine says was telegraphed in advance and could have been prevented, left many noncombatants terrorized first by the rioters and then by corrections staff retaking the prison.

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Videos

Tom Clements: Murdered prison chief seen in new video urging drug-law reform

By Alan Prendergast Mon., Apr. 22 2013 at 9:59 AM
Categories: Colorado Crimes, Follow That Story, Prison Life, Videos

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Tom Clements.
Tom Clements, the reform-minded head of the Colorado Department of Corrections who was murdered at his home last month by a parolee, makes a posthumous appearance in a new video advocating for one of his favorite causes: more substance abuse treatment for chronic, low-level offenders, freeing up costly prison beds for violent criminals who pose a threat to public safety. "Substance addiction can dramatically alter the way people think, what's important to them, and the way they behave," Clements says.

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Prison Life

Edward Montour guilty plea ruling: David Lane on death penalty, James Holmes, "bloody 18th"

By Michael Roberts Wed., Apr. 10 2013 at 12:00 PM
Categories: Colorado Crimes, Follow That Story, Prison Life

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Photos, document below.
At a February hearing, Edward Montour sought to withdraw his guilty plea for a 2002 murder in an effort to avoid the death penalty he'd previously sought. The office of 18th Judicial District DA George Brauchler, who's also seeking death for accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes, argued against such a move, but a judge has now granted it; see his order below. Montour attorney David Lane sees the ruling as just and uses strong language to criticize capital punishment, Brauchler and what he calls the "bloody 18th."

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Prison Life

Photos: Ten executions gone horribly wrong

By Michael Roberts Mon., Apr. 8 2013 at 7:50 AM
Categories: Prison Life

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Big photos below.
Capitol punishment has made plenty of news in Colorado lately, thanks to a failed attempt to ban the practice and 18th Judicial District DA George Brauchler's pledge to seek seek the death penalty against accused Aurora theater shooter James Holmes.

But what about when executions go wrong? CU Professor Michael Radelet assembled a long list of examples, from which we chose nine startling stories, supplemented by one from Westword's archives. Get the details below.

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Prison Life

Edward Montour case: Was inmate a "volunteer" for the death penalty?

By Alan Prendergast Thu., Feb. 21 2013 at 3:50 PM
Categories: Colorado Crimes, Follow That Story, News, Prison Life

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Montour.
In an unusual court hearing unfolding in Castle Rock, attorneys for Edward Montour Jr. are seeking to withdraw his guilty plea for the murder of a correctional officer in 2002, claiming that he was mentally ill at the time and seeking "court-assisted suicide" by firing his lawyers in a death-penalty case.

"He was, in my opinion, a volunteer," former state chief deputy public defender Sharlene Reynolds testified this morning. "He wanted to be killed by the state."

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Prison Life

Terrell Griswold: State reprimands prison doctor David Oba over inmate's death

By Alan Prendergast Tue., Feb. 12 2013 at 2:58 PM
Categories: Follow That Story, News, Prison Life

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Griswold.
Most physicians go through their entire careers without ever running afoul of state regulators. But two years after a 26-year-old inmate with chronic kidney problems died while under his care, prison doctor David M. Oba has received a sharply worded letter of admonition from the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) for care and treatment deemed to be "below the generally accepted standards of practice for a physician" -- the second such disciplinary action DORA has taken against Oba.

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Prison Life

The ten best books about America's prisons

By Alan Prendergast Wed., Jan. 16 2013 at 1:34 PM
Categories: Follow That Story, Prison Life

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This week's cover story, "The Lifers Book Club," reports on the Words Beyond Bars Project, a pilot progam at the Limon Correctional Facility that puts high-security prisoners, many of them serving life sentences, in a room with volunteers to discuss great books. It's a modest effort that could transform lives -- and certainly provides an interpretation of Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men you won't get in your typical high school English class. One of the greatest challenges, WBB developer Karen Lausa found out, is picking the right books.

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