In his first statement on the issue, Gov. Bill Owens said he could support parole hearings for juveniles convicted of murder in the future – but not for past offenders.
His remarks came during a news conference at the Capitol following the House Judiciary Committee’s approval Thursday of Rep. Lynn Hefley’s bill to extend parole options after 40 years to prisoners facing life without parole, including past offenders.
“I’m open to considering the possibility of parole after 40 years for future offenders,” Owens said, breaking from his usual practice of not commenting on fledgling legislation.
However, he said, he could not support a provision in Hefley’s bill rolling back past life- without-parole sentences given to prisoners whose appeals are exhausted, saying it infringes on his constitutionally granted executive clemency powers.
“I think it’s wrong to retroactively change the rules after the court case is completed,” he said.
He added that the state attorney general has sided with that view in a preliminary opinion, as have most of the state’s district attorneys.
Owens’ remarks surprised statehouse observers and juvenile advocates aware of his long silence on the issue despite emotional Capitol debates in recent years. In 2005, he vetoed a Hefley bill approved by the General Assembly that would have created a nine-month commission to study possible reforms, saying the “time frame is unrealistic and unworkable.”
Hefley said Friday that Owens’ statement encouraged her.
“I always appreciate Gov. Owens’ support, especially this early in the process,” Hefley said. “I look forward to working with him to come to a neutral solution.”
The Colorado Springs lawmaker has repeatedly maintained, however, that the heart of her bill is granting parole options for current offenders.
She is awaiting a ruling from the legislature’s legal counsel on the bill’s constitutionality.
“Like many pieces of legislation that we push through, we’ll have constitutional concerns, but we still go ahead and do it if the whole General Assembly agrees it’s OK to try,” she said.
Democratic State Rep. Cheri Jahn of Wheat Ridge said she hopes Owens reconsiders his opposition to the bill’s primary goal, saying, “We have juveniles who possibly have received these life sentences when the level of their crime did not rise to that level” of punishment.
Prosecutors and the families of victims whose killers are in prison have been adamant in their opposition to any legislation that could be applied retroactively. But prosecutors have indicated a willingness to discuss a proposal to deal with future crimes.
Staff writer Miles Moffeit can be reached at 303-820-1415 or mmoffeit@denverpost.com.
