After decades of secrecy and following a 16-month 9Wants to Know investigation, the Colorado Department of Corrections may be forced to disclose the location of previously secret prisoners, with some possible exceptions.
Senate Bill 18-014 was heard and cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday. It could ensure victims and survivors be told information they say they desperately want.
“If knowing the location of the perpetrator of a crime against any victim will help them through their day, we as a society, should do all we can to provide that to them,” testified Tom Sullivan, whose son Alex was killed in the Aurora theater shooting.
INVESTIGATION | State, victims clash over whereabouts of notorious criminals
Sullivan’s killer, the Aurora theater shooter, was hidden by the Colorado Department of Corrections out of state as part of the Interstate Compact transfer, a prisoner swap for either some of the worst of the worst inmates, or those who DOC believes need protection.
A 9Wants to Know investigation found that DOC has been transferring prisoners out of state for years without telling victims where the inmates were being held.
More than 100 of Colorado’s inmates are serving time in other states, according to information provided by DOC to 9NEWS and DOC’s testimony at the Monday hearing.
Most other inmates are easily found online.
“Victims have the right to know and they have a right to be informed. And what this bill does, it puts clarity around a process, once passed, that victims will be informed when their offender is relocated to another state,” said Sen. Rhonda Fields (D-Aurora), the bill’s co-sponsor.
Sen. John Cooke (R-Greeley) told 9NEWS he decided to move forward with the bill after watching the 9Wants To Know investigation in May 2017.
“Overall, we feel that it’s the right of victims to know where an inmate has been located. We feel that there has been a miscarriage of justice for quite a long time,” Cooke said during Monday’s testimony at the Capitol.
The bipartisan law will mandate DOC to notify the victims where an inmate serving time out of state is located.
There are some exceptions, and the language of the bill is still being ironed out.
Some of those instances where a victim may not be notified include if the inmate is a witness and DOC’s executive director determines that disclosing the location would be a risk. A prosecutor may request non-disclosure, or if the inmate is a former law enforcement officer, his or her location could be kept secret.
“We support the basis of this bill, we support providing information to the victims. We also support that the bill contains clear definable exemptions,” said Travis Trani, director of prisons for the Colorado Department of Corrections during his Monday testimony.
Press Secretary Jacque Montgomery issued the following statement from Governor Hickenlooper’s office on the bill:
Today’s bill, as amended, allows us to provide appropriate information to victims and families while ensuring safety for all - including correctional officers. We look forward to seeing SB 014, in its current form, reach the Governor’s desk.
As 9NEWS previously reported, DOC has already started telling victims who ask where the inmates are. But lawmakers say they want to make sure this is all outlined and guaranteed by a law.
The bill now moves to the second reading where all 35 senators will debate it.
