Colorado: Juvenile Clemency

The Denver Post is reporting on what it calls "the nation's first juvenile-clemency board," established by Gov. Bill Ritter. A panel has "delved into individual cases" and established "eligibility criteria" and "an application process." The Post says "some final clemency decisions likely will come before the end of the year." Mark Noel, the state director for extradition and clemency, is quoted as saying, "This is all new ground. We've had inquiries from all over the world about this board. It's a very careful, serious, deliberate process. These are murder cases. You don't want to rush something like this." Says the Post:

The board makes nonbinding recommendations to the governor, who can reduce a sentence or deny clemency. Offenders who are denied must wait three years to reapply. The seven-member board also will see its first turnover, as one member leaves for health reasons. Currently, the board has no African-American representation — a situation juvenile advocates would like to see change.

Colorado: Juvenile Clemency

The Rocky Mountain News reports that, last year, Colorado's Juvenile Clemency Board was held out as "a last ray of hope for young prisoners serving time for crimes they committed in their teens." In his executive order establishing the Board last fall, Gov. Bill Ritter (D) attempted to design the Board for juvenile offenders who had been tried as adults. But the Board has since adopted criteria requiring each applicant to have been a "juvenile when he was tried and convicted as an adult." As a result, the Board does not consider the age of offenders at the time of the offense. Instead it considers their age at the time of conviction, or even sentencing. The piece notes "many cases, especially murder charges, can take a year or more to get to trial" and "a number of young prisoners become ineligible" under these guidelines. A resolution of these complications is expected in June. See story here.

Colorado: Post Wishes Moses-EL Lotsa Luck

The Denver Post has taken an editorial stance against legislation requiring courts to hold a new trial if DNA evidence that was supposed to be preserved instead was destroyed. As far as the Post is concerned, the court system "already provides avenues of recourse for those who say they were wrongly convicted" and the bill would add "an additional process" and force judges to hold unwarranted, new trials. The Post is also concerned that the legislation "sets no deadlines for such actions" and that it contradicts another DNA bill being debated in the legislature. Why the legalisation? The Post explains:

Certainly, the case should have been handled better, particularly with regard to DNA evidence. As part of his post-conviction appeals, Moses-EL got a court order in 1995 to have evidence tested for DNA. The evidence was packaged and ready for defense lawyers to pick up. After a month, it was thrown away as part of routine housekeeping by a clerk who didn't notice the "do not destroy" notation. That was wrong, but the action was reviewed by the courts, which deemed the destruction was not done in bad faith.

As for Moses-El, the Post writes:

... we would encourage [Representative] Gordon to put his efforts into an appeal to the governor for clemency.

In addition, the Post says it is "not as convinced of the innocence of Moses-EL as others." To see why, read the article here. See also PardonPower's previous discussion of the case here.

Colorado: Request

Gov. Bill Ritter (D) will be asked to commute the 48-year prison sentence of Clarence Moses-El, or grant a pardon. Moses-El was convicted of rape in 1987 although there was no physical evidence. The victim is said to have named three other suspects before telling prosecutors that her attacker's identity came to her in a dream. In 1995, Moses-El gathered donations from fellow inmates for a DNA test only to learn that the Denver police had thrown what evidence they had away! The "DO NOT DESTROY" labels were ignored. Sen. Ken Gordon, D-Denver now asks, "Who bears the consequences of the destruction of a lot of crucial evidence by law enforcement?" and has introduced Senate Bill 205, which would require courts to grant a new trial if material evidence subject to court ordered preservation is destroyed, lost or otherwise disposed of by law enforcement. Gordon will also be asking Gov. Ritter to either commute Moses-El's sentence or pardon him. See story here. Additional background on the case can be found in the Denver Post, here and here.