Gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez raised a thorny issue during a debate last week when he mentioned about Colorado prisoners being released after they had made violent threats.
“It’s happened on his watch,” Beauprez said, referring to his opponent, incumbent Gov. John Hickenlooper.
Actually, it no doubt has happened on every governor’s watch. Prisoners are often dangerous, some are mentally ill, and their sentences do in fact run out. And at that point, the options for holding them are limited.
But some things can be done to limit the risk, even if Beauprez didn’t mention any.
The issue is particularly troubling in light of the case involving Evan Ebel, who walked out of prison in January 2013 after making threats to kill and torture correctional officers and others. Ebel went on to murder prisons chief Tom Clements two months after his release.
In response to Beauprez, Hickenlooper said prisons cannot ethically keep prisoners who have served their sentences. He said his administration unsuccessfully tried to pass a law to make civil commitments easier, but “we couldn’t get it through.”
What he didn’t say is the failed bill to remove the word “imminent” from the law.
Colorado is one of a handful of states where people must pose an “imminent danger” to themselves or others before they can be involuntarily committed. That language, however, is an important barrier to civil liberty abuses, and we’re not eager to see it expunged.
Still, Colorado should have broader remedies to prevent the release of an inmate who has expressed a credible threat to do harm.
Lawmakers would be wise to reconsider a 2014 bill that gained bipartisan support in the House but was killed in the Senate.
House Bill 1114, sponsored by Rep. Mark Waller, R-Colorado Springs, and Rep. Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, would have given prisons the power to revoke inmates’ earned time.
Now, few prisoners without life sentences serve “straight time.” “Earned” and “good time” allow prisoners to trim their sentences for good behavior or for participating in education or behavior programs.
Every month, the Department of Corrections lets prisoners permanently vest their earned time shortly after they receive it. Waller’s bill would have allowed officials to revoke that time if prisoners violated the penal code.
The bill likely got hung up because it was sponsored by Sen. Bernie Herpin, R-Colorado Springs, who had become anathema to Democrats for taking over a recalled seat. Parts of it were overly broad, too, such as allowing officials to dock time for Class III violations of the penal code, such as littering or failing to wear name tags.
Other states and the federal prison system allow officials to revoke earned time for misbehavior such as issuing dangerous threats.
Inmates can’t be held past their full sentences absent a credible imminent threat of violence, but that doesn’t mean every hour of earned time must be sacrosanct. Officials should enjoy greater discretion when a prisoner appears bent on mayhem.
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