Gov. John Hickenlooper made his position on the death penalty clear in a Sunday TV interview. (Lewis Geyer/Times-Call)
John Hickenlooper said Sunday he has changed his mind since his first run for governor and now opposes the death penalty, but the immediate fate of convicted killer-turned-campaign-issue Nathan Dunlap is still unclear.
The next governor will decide when or if the man who killed four restaurant employees, including three teenagers, in 1993 will be put to death.
If it’s Hickenlooper’s Republican challenger, Bob Beauprez, there’s little doubt. “When I’m governor, Nathan Dunlap will be executed,” Beauprez said with authority to applause in in May.
Hickenlooper’s change of heart comes a year after he undermined a Democratic legislative by suggesting he would veto it, which was two months before he ” on his death sentence.
Beauprez said Monday Hickenlooper continues to fumble through a position on Dunlap and the death penalty.
“The issue of capital punishment is a difficult one that we wrestle with as a society. That’s why it’s hard to understand John Hickenlooper’s actions in light of these new statements,” Beauprez said. “If he truly does oppose the death penalty, he should have commuted Nathan Dunlap’s sentence instead of leaving the decision to the next governor. As Colorado’s next governor, I will see that justice is served.”
Hickenlooper’s camp has vowed not to get into name-calling contests, that there won’t be any negative campaigning on their part. His spokesman offered no reply to Beauprez’s charge.
So instead on Monday, Hickenlooper was telling institutional investors, high net worth speculators and business analysts that Colorado was economy over steak luncheon at the EnerCom Oil & Gas Conference.
Hickenloooper told them it was the government’s job to help remove “uncertainty and lack of visibility” for investors who want to do business in Colorado.
