Capital punishment in Colorado
Encyclopedia
Capital punishment
is legal in the U.S. state
of Colorado
.
Colorado was the last state to perform an execution in pre-Furman
period (in 1967), but since 1977 executed only one prisoner.
rule in 1972, which found all states death penalty statutes unconstitutional. In 1976, Colorado's new death penalty statutes were approved by the Supreme Court and Colorado was allowed to continue performing executions.
As in any other state, people who are under 18 at the time of commission of the capital crime or mentally retarded are constitutionally precluded from being executed.
. Life in prison
is an option. Death row
is located in Canon City
. Currently there are three people awaiting execution: 1) Nathan Dunlap who was condemned for shooting and killing four people at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant, 2) Sir Mario Owens who was convicted and received a jury's death determination in 2008 for the murder of a young couple, Javad Marshall-Fields and his fiancee, Vivian Wolfe who were prosecution witnesses in a murder trial involving Owens, and 3) Robert Ray who ordered the murders, committed by Sir Mario Owens, of witnesses Javad Marshall-Fields and Vivian Wolfe in his pending murder trial. .
has a sole right to pardon or commute the death sentence. no commutation was granted.
On January 7, 2011 Colorado Governor Bill Ritter granted a full and unconditional posthumous pardon to Joe Arridy, who had been convicted and executed as an accomplice to a murder that occurred in 1936. The pardon came 72 years after Arridy’s execution and is the first such pardon in Colorado history. A press release from the governor's office stated, "[A]n overwhelming body of evidence indicates the 23-year-old Arridy was innocent, including false and coerced confessions, the likelihood that Arridy was not in Pueblo at the time of the killing, and an admission of guilt by someone else." The governor also pointed to Arridy's intellectual disabilities. He had an IQ of 46 and functioned like a toddler. The governor said, “Granting a posthumous pardon is an extraordinary remedy. But the tragic conviction of Mr. Arridy and his subsequent execution on Jan. 6, 1939, merit such relief based on the great likelihood that Mr. Arridy was, in fact, innocent of the crime for which he was executed, and his severe mental disability at the time of his trial and execution. Pardoning Mr. Arridy cannot undo this tragic event in Colorado history. It is in the interests of justice and simple decency, however, to restore his good name.”
, 90 since. All of these people were killed as punishment for murder
and all were males.
Hanging
was the sole method of execution until it was replaced by the gas chamber
in 1934. There were 69 hangings and 32 gassings .
Luis Monge
, gassed on June 2, 1967, was the last person put to death in Colorado prior to 1977.
Other notable execution was the case of Jack Gilbert Graham
on 11 January 1957 for killing 44 people by placing a bomb aboard United Airlines Flight 629
.
Colorado is known for being the last state to make use of lethal gas prior to the 1972 Supreme Court
decision that effectively abolished capital punishment in the United States
. Colorado performed the last pre-Furman gassing in 1967. Oklahoma
performed the last pre-Furman electrocution in 1966. Kansas
performed the last pre-Furman hanging in 1965. Utah
performed the last pre-Furman firing squad in 1960.
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
is legal in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
.
Colorado was the last state to perform an execution in pre-Furman
Furman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia, was a United States Supreme Court decision that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty. The case led to a de facto moratorium on capital punishment throughout the United States, which came to an end when Gregg v. Georgia was...
period (in 1967), but since 1977 executed only one prisoner.
Current development
Death penalty was reinstated in Colorado on January 1, 1975. Previous death penalty statute was declared unconstitutional due to United States Supreme Court Furman v. GeorgiaFurman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia, was a United States Supreme Court decision that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty. The case led to a de facto moratorium on capital punishment throughout the United States, which came to an end when Gregg v. Georgia was...
rule in 1972, which found all states death penalty statutes unconstitutional. In 1976, Colorado's new death penalty statutes were approved by the Supreme Court and Colorado was allowed to continue performing executions.
As in any other state, people who are under 18 at the time of commission of the capital crime or mentally retarded are constitutionally precluded from being executed.
Sentencing and Death Row
Suitability of the death sentence is determined by the juryJury
A jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Modern juries tend to be found in courts to ascertain the guilt, or lack thereof, in a crime. In Anglophone jurisdictions, the verdict may be guilty,...
. Life in prison
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
is an option. Death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
is located in Canon City
Cañon City, Colorado
The City of Cañon City is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Fremont County, State of Colorado. The United States Census Bureau estimated that the city population was 16,000 in 2005. Cañon City is noted for being the location of nine state and four ...
. Currently there are three people awaiting execution: 1) Nathan Dunlap who was condemned for shooting and killing four people at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant, 2) Sir Mario Owens who was convicted and received a jury's death determination in 2008 for the murder of a young couple, Javad Marshall-Fields and his fiancee, Vivian Wolfe who were prosecution witnesses in a murder trial involving Owens, and 3) Robert Ray who ordered the murders, committed by Sir Mario Owens, of witnesses Javad Marshall-Fields and Vivian Wolfe in his pending murder trial. .
Clemency
Governor of ColoradoGovernor of Colorado
The Governor of Colorado is the head of the executive branch of Colorado's government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Colorado General Assembly, to convene the...
has a sole right to pardon or commute the death sentence. no commutation was granted.
On January 7, 2011 Colorado Governor Bill Ritter granted a full and unconditional posthumous pardon to Joe Arridy, who had been convicted and executed as an accomplice to a murder that occurred in 1936. The pardon came 72 years after Arridy’s execution and is the first such pardon in Colorado history. A press release from the governor's office stated, "[A]n overwhelming body of evidence indicates the 23-year-old Arridy was innocent, including false and coerced confessions, the likelihood that Arridy was not in Pueblo at the time of the killing, and an admission of guilt by someone else." The governor also pointed to Arridy's intellectual disabilities. He had an IQ of 46 and functioned like a toddler. The governor said, “Granting a posthumous pardon is an extraordinary remedy. But the tragic conviction of Mr. Arridy and his subsequent execution on Jan. 6, 1939, merit such relief based on the great likelihood that Mr. Arridy was, in fact, innocent of the crime for which he was executed, and his severe mental disability at the time of his trial and execution. Pardoning Mr. Arridy cannot undo this tragic event in Colorado history. It is in the interests of justice and simple decency, however, to restore his good name.”
Execution since 1977
Only one person was killed by the state of Colorado after the reintroduction of capital punishment.| Executed person | Date of execution | Victims | Method | Under Governor | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gary Lee Davis Gary Lee Davis Gary Lee Davis was a convicted murderer and rapist who was executed by the U.S. state of Colorado in 1997. He is the first person to have been subject to the death penalty in Colorado since the 1960s.-Early life:... |
13 October 1997 | Virginia May | lethal injection Lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide... |
Roy R. Romer |
Earlier history
In total 101 people were executed in Colorado in the pre-Furman period (1859–1967). 11 of these executions were prior to StatehoodU.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
, 90 since. All of these people were killed as punishment for murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
and all were males.
Hanging
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
was the sole method of execution until it was replaced by the gas chamber
Gas chamber
A gas chamber is an apparatus for killing humans or animals with gas, consisting of a sealed chamber into which a poisonous or asphyxiant gas is introduced. The most commonly used poisonous agent is hydrogen cyanide; carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide have also been used...
in 1934. There were 69 hangings and 32 gassings .
Luis Monge
Luis Monge
Luis José Monge was a convicted murderer who was executed in the gas chamber at Colorado State Penitentiary in 1967. Monge was the last inmate to be executed before an unofficial moratorium on executions began in the United States in 1972.- Murders :Monge, a Denver salesman, was a native of...
, gassed on June 2, 1967, was the last person put to death in Colorado prior to 1977.
Other notable execution was the case of Jack Gilbert Graham
Jack Gilbert Graham
John "Jack" Gilbert Graham was a mass murderer who killed 44 people by planting a dynamite bomb in his mother's suitcase that was subsequently loaded aboard United Airlines Flight 629.-Crime:...
on 11 January 1957 for killing 44 people by placing a bomb aboard United Airlines Flight 629
United Airlines Flight 629
United Airlines Flight 629, registration N37559, was a Douglas DC-6B aircraft, named "Mainliner Denver," which was blown up with a dynamite bomb placed in the checked luggage. The explosion occurred over Longmont, Colorado while the airplane was en route from Denver, Colorado to Portland, Oregon,...
.
Colorado is known for being the last state to make use of lethal gas prior to the 1972 Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
decision that effectively abolished capital punishment in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Colorado performed the last pre-Furman gassing in 1967. Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
performed the last pre-Furman electrocution in 1966. Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
performed the last pre-Furman hanging in 1965. Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
performed the last pre-Furman firing squad in 1960.
External links
- Colorado execution chamber (used only once for Gary Lee DavisGary Lee DavisGary Lee Davis was a convicted murderer and rapist who was executed by the U.S. state of Colorado in 1997. He is the first person to have been subject to the death penalty in Colorado since the 1960s.-Early life:...
, volunteer)
