Colorado House advances measure to close bail loophole opened after death-penalty repeal

DENVER (CN) — Since Colorado lawmakers repealed the death penalty in 2020, all defendants must be given the opportunity to post bond.

That includes a man accused of indiscriminately killing 10 people at a Boulder grocery store in 2021.

To close the loophole, the Colorado House on Friday advanced a resolution to amend the state constitution, adding first-degree murder to the short list of exceptions to the right to bail.

“Judges are setting extremely high bonds in these cases as the ability to hold defendants without bond no longer exists," Representative Mike Lynch, a Republican from Weld County and the bill's sponsor, explained ahead of the vote.

"This results in the potential that a person charged with first-degree murder can post bond and be released while the case proceeds," Lynch said. "This represents a real and significant threat to public safety."

State constitutional amendments must first pass the legislature with a two-thirds vote before winning in an election with support from 55% of voters.

Last June, the Colorado Supreme Court confirmed that courts may only deny bail to individuals when "presumption is great that a capital offense has been committed."

Without a death penalty, defendants charged with even the most heinous crimes must be given the opportunity to walk free — including Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa, who faces 10 counts of first-degree murder for killing 10 seemingly random people at a Boulder grocery story on March 22, 2021.

The loophole caused a Boulder judge to set bond for Alissa’s release from custody at $100 million in November 2023.

Lawmakers estimate about 500 first-degree murder cases have been impacted by the loophole.

Resolution HCR24-1002, or the “Constitutional Bail Exception First Degree Murder,” would ask voters to amend the state constitution to create an “exception to the right to bail for cases of murder in the first degree when proof is evident or presumption is great.”

In addition to representative Lynch, the bi-partisan measure is sponsored by Majority Leader Monica Duran, a Democrat from Jefferson County, as well as Senators Rhonda Fields (a Democrat from Adams County) and Bob Gardner (a Republican from El Paso County).

The four lawmakers are also backing HB24-1225, or the “First Degree Murder Bail & Jury Selection Statute," which gives first-degree murder defendants the same number of peremptory juror challenges that were available in capital cases.

The House must vote on a third reading of the measures before sending them to the state Senate.

Follow @bright_lamp

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit