Assignment # 10

In 2000, there were sixty-one privately run juvenile prison facilities. Over the course of the next four years, that number steadily decreased. In 2002 there were 52 juvenile prison facilities and in 2004 it had dropped to 49. There can be several reasons for the drop in juvenile prison facilities. One of which could be the reduction of juvenile crimes in Colorado. Another could be the 9/11 attacks that caused the financial market to collapse. A lot of people lost their businesses and the private juvenile prison facility market could have been hit. And finally, existing juvenile prison facilities could have grown in size and profit and could have run smaller facilities out of business.

According to the Criminal Justice Sourcebook, the state of Colorado had 61 jails in 1999. Ninety-eight percent of its rating capacity was occupied. Colorado was not in over capacity. The average in the United States of inmates to correctional officers is 4.4:1, while in Colorado it is 3.2:1. The national average of inmate to total staff is 2.9:1 while Colorado is at 2.4:1. Also, because Colorado's capacity occupied is at 98%, it is not to it's maximum capacity or more, although it is very close. (U.S. Department of Justice, 1999)

From Dec. 31 2000 – Dec. 31 2006 the Colorado female prison population saw an annual increase of 9.5% with the incarceration rate jumping from 1,333 – 2,302. The increase during the next year (2006-2007) dropped to a 1.4 increase with the incarceration rate only increasing from 2,302 – 2,335. Though the incarceration rate still increased, the percentage of increase was less intense then the fallowing years.

From Dec. 31 2000 – Dec. 31 2006 the Colorado male prison population saw an annual increase of 4.5% with the incarceration rate going from 15,500 – 20,179. For the fallowing year of 2006-2007 the incarceration rate increased 1.6%, with the incarceration rate going from 20,179- 20,506. The percentage change shown is not a major difference when comparing the two years. However the change shown does indicate that the increase with the prison population is slowing down ( Crowther, 2009)

However some reasons for the increase are :The highest increase being between 2000-2006 during the Bush administration and during the beginning of the recession companies were downsizing and outsourcing jobs overseas which could lead to aggression in men to commit crimes. Also, the housing market began to decline which affected jobs primarily held by men so that led a higher unemployment rate which led to more homeless looking for a warm bed an three squares a day. Another reason is that the police could have been cracking down on any and all traffic violations. Women population also increased because of the following reasons: with the decrease of jobs, women would be the most likely to lose their jobs before men. Same reason as a man. Also more prostitution stings more effective. Another reason is that women possibly be more prone to shoplift essentials.

Crowther, Alicia. (2009, November 24). Female and male Prisoners excel Spreadsheet. Retrived from https://webcampus.nevada.edu.

U.S. Department of Justice. Bureau of Justice Statisctics. ( 2003, p.91) . Washington D.C. Retrived from http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/pdf/t198.pdf.

U.S. Department of Justice. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. (2004). Wahington D.C. Retrived from http://www.albany.edu/sourcebook/pdf/t100092004.pdf.

Assignment #9

Colorado is a state that has the death penalty. However, they have only executed one person since 1976. It was a man executed in 1997. Before 1976, there were 101 total death sentences carried out. 3 people currently are serving on death row, all male. There is a 3.1 murder rate per 100,000 persons. Life without parole is an option and the death penalty can include felons not responsible for the murder. There have been zero innocent persons freed from death row and zero clemencies granted. Only the Governor has sole authority to grant clemency. The death penalty is carried out by Lethal Injection.
First Execution in Colorado
The first execution in Colorado took place on April in 1859. The criminal being executed, due to murder, was a white male known as John Stoefel. His age is unknown but the type of execution he received was a hanging.
Last Execution in Colorado
The last execution in Colorado took place on the 13 of October in 1997. The Criminal being executed, due to kidnapping- murder, was a white male at the age of 53 who went by Davis Gray Lee. The type of execution he received was that of injection.
Compare/ Contrast
With the information provided stating the two types of execution, the information that is most recent gives more information about the criminal. For instance the information given about the first execution does not provide the criminals age and the last execution does. The types of execution the two received are different as well. Though both were executed due to a murder charge, the first criminal received a hanging which is an intense punishment while the other received an injection which is said to be painless.
Colorado had the following PROBATION populations in 2006: 30,328 entries & 24,071 exits were reported. The probation population was 63,032 and the number on probation per 100,000 adult residents was 1,743.
Colorado had the following PAROLE populations in 2006: 7,927 entries and 6,572 exits reported. The parole population was 9,551 and the number on parole per 100,000 residents was 264.
Colorado state has a higher rate of probation.
In comparison, the state of Minnesota had the following PROBATION populations in 2006: 88,735 entries & 80,324 exits were reported. The probation population was 127,289 and the number on probation per 100,000 residents was 3,243.
Minnesota had the following PAROLE populations in 2006: 5,427 entries and 5,003 exits reported. The parole population was 4,431 and the number on parole per 100,000 residents was 113.
Minnesota state has a higher rate of probation.
When comparing Colorado to Minnesota, they are similar because they both have a higher rate of probation over parole...but when looking at the numbers, it is easy to see that Minnesota has a much higher rate of probation. The increase is almost equal in comparison when looking at the overall population of the two states. With that said, its odd to see that the rate of parole is much lower in Minnesota than it is in Colorado.

Students make amends through Restorative Justice
by Greg Swenson, University Communications
The Restorative Justice program at CU-Boulder has come a long way since 1999, when CU became the first university in the nation to begin a pilot program offering students who got themselves into trouble a chance to make amends with injured parties while avoiding court.
Restorative Justice is available to students who are first-time offenders of mostly nonviolent crimes, such as hosting or attending a loud party. Rather than going to trial or pleading guilty, these students take a plea bargain and agree to go through CU’s Restorative Justice program.
“The Restorative Justice program allows students to take responsibility for their actions by talking with community members and learning how their negative actions have affected others in the community that they live in,” said Gina Bata, CU-Boulder’s Restorative Justice program coordinator since fall 2006. “The majority of students who have gone through the program report to us that they learned from their mistake and the large majority of them don’t get into trouble again.”

Once the student offender has agreed to participate in the program, they have agreed to take responsibility for their actions. One of the main components of the program is a group conference centered on the student’s violation and how it affected specific victims or the community in general.

Bata has 25 student facilitators who work with an additional 40 community members to host these group conferences. The majority of cases involve “quality of life” and low level violence violations, and are handled by a Community Accountability Board, which is made up of the three community representatives and two student facilitators.
During the conference, the student offenders, student facilitators and community members discuss the offense and agree on a plan to “right the wrong,” according to Bata. This could involve community service, letters of apology or a number of other possible solutions.

“One of the best things about Restorative Justice is that people in the community are also given an outlet and a chance to offer input to students to help them understand their community, and to talk about how their actions affect others living near them,” Bata said.
The Restorative Justice program is housed in the Office of Judicial Affairs and also partners with the Boulder City Attorney’s Office in cooperation with the Boulder Municipal Court. It has handled more than 300 cases so far in the 2008-09 school year (Swenson, 2009).

Crowther, Alicia. (2009, November 11). Parole Population and Probation Population. Retrived from https://webcampus.nevada.edu.

Swenson, Greg. ( 2009, January 13).Students make amends through Restorative Justice.University of Colorado at Boulder. Retrived from
http://www.colorado.edu/insidecu/editions/2009/1-13/story1.html.

RBGStreetScholar.(2009, November 16). Retrived from http://media.photobucket.com/image/death%20penalty/RBGStreetScholar/m197400560386.jpg.

Assignment #8

We picked up Denver as a county in Colorado. Denver uses Grand Jury . Difference between Grand Jury and Preliminary Hearing are that Grand Jury has jury members that are chosen by the judge, theses members take part in the hearing that is taking place and take part in making a final decision. Unlike Grand Jury a preliminary hearing takes place before a judicial officer. The officer alone decides if a crime was committed or not.In the newspaper article, the defendant, Allen Andrade is being charged with first-degree murder and a hate crime against Angie Zapata, a 17-year-old transgender woman that he first beat with his fists and then a fire extinguisher. If a jury convicts Andrade of the most serious charges, Colorado law requires a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. On top of that, prosecutors filed habitual criminal counts against Andrade, which could quadruple any sentence he might receive. The jurors will be sent to different courtrooms randomly, while a constantly changing process will be used against them to ensure no one would know what crime they would be judging. No jurors were challenged for peremptory challenges. The biggest factor with this case, as with any high-profile case, is the fact the more publicity a case is getting, the more likelihood people are familiar with the details of the case. That always makes jury selection difficult. The prosecution would probably want jurors that would fight to strengthen federal hate-crime laws and people who support transgender victims and believe people should be who they want to be and live normal, just as everyone else does. The defense would probably push for jurors that are just the opposite and argue the fact that its not "fair" when people are fooled by the transgender community. Many do not believe in the transgender community nor do they believe in the protection of transgender people. (Colorado Independent, 2009).Arnold Zaler was convicted of fraud and sentenced to fifteen years in prison for swindling investors out of nearly 2.5 million dollars. Zaler ran koscher hot dog stands at the Pepsi Center and Invesco Field at Mile High. He convinced investors, many from within his own Jewish community. He had help from a friend of his, Ryan Thomas Smith, a former corporate salesman for Korenke Sports Enterprise, who signed fake contracts for the sales of thousands of hot dogs and forged signatures of others for similar contracts. Direct evidence in the case were those contracts along with witness statements by the people whose names were forged. The only circumstantial evidence in the case was the testimony by a psychologist hired by the Defense stating that there was a possibility of mental illness, however the prosecution's questioning made the witness seem not credible.In Colorado, the speedy trial statute states that within 6 months of a not guilty plea, a trial must be made available. However, if a trial date is proposed by the court that is beyond the 6 month time frame and neither the defendant or the defendant's counsel objects, then the right to a speedy trial is waived and thus extended to the date proposed (Gustafson, n.d.) The speedy trial statute in Nevada is different because a trial must be provided within 60 days of arraignment. In both states, this right may be waived if the defendant asks for more preparation time (Lawyers.com, n.d.) .
Absolutely Affordable Bail Bond. (2009, November 6). [image]. Retrieved from www.google.com

Cardona, F. (2009, November 4). Federal judge in Denver sentences hot-dog swindler to 15 years. Denver Post. Retrieved from http://www.denverpost.com/crime/ci_13733061.

Gustafson, R. D. (n.d.). Colorado Statue of Limitations & Speedy Trial. (2009, November 10) Retrived from Gustafson Law website http://www.gustafsonlaw.com.

Lawyers.com. (n.d.). Criminal Process in Nevada. (2009, November 10). Retrived from Lawyers.com website: http://research.lawyers.com/Nevada.com


Lunning, E. ( 2008, April 14). Jury Selection starts Tuesday in trail of man charged with Zapalata slaying. The Colorado Indipendent. Retrived from http://coloradoindependent.com