In the hushed state House chamber, all eyes Tuesday stared up at the vote board, which showed lawmakers deadlocked 32-32 on whether to repeal the death penalty in Colorado.
All but Rep. Edward Vigil’s eyes, that is.
The Fort Garland Democrat sat at his desk with a hand held to his forehead, contemplating his suddenly crucial decision.
Heads swiveled in his direction. Whispers filled the silence. Seconds passed.
After nearly a minute, Vigil pushed a green button and, in doing so, pushed House Bill 1274 on to the state Senate in a dramatic 33-32 victory for death-penalty foes at the Capitol.
“Hopefully this will make us a better society in Colorado by not having a death penalty,” Vigil said afterward, “though I have my reservations.”
The bill would eliminate the death penalty as a sentencing option going forward and would use the projected cost savings to fund a cold-case unit in the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
House Majority Leader Paul Weissmann, a Louisville Democrat who is the bill’s sponsor, said more than 1,000 homicides have gone unsolved in Colorado over the past 40 years, during which Colorado has executed only one convict. He said more than $800,000 in saved money would be left over every year after the state funds the cold-case unit.
“We ought to fund the unit we created two years ago to try to solve some of those unsolved crimes,” Weissmann said.
Opponents said the bill takes away a necessary tool for law enforcement officers and prosecutors and said some crimes are so heinous that death is the only appropriate punishment.
Weissmann has carried a nearly identical bill for the past several years at the legislature, but this is as far as the bill has ever advanced in the process. Even if it were to get through the Senate, it is unclear what kind of reception it would receive from Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat who is a former prosecutor.
“The governor continues to monitor the bill as it moves through the legislature,” Evan Dreyer, Ritter’s spokesman, said in an e-mail Tuesday.
Vigil said he struggled mightily with Tuesday’s vote, attempting to balance his beliefs in the moral good of ending the death penalty with the practical good of prosecutors having a tool to use as leverage against suspects.
Rep. Don Marostica of Loveland was the lone Republican to vote for the bill.
“I’m pro-life, and consequently I believe in the sanctity of all human life, and I mean all,” Marostica said. “So that’s why I voted for it.”
The Democrats who voted against it were Edward Casso of Thornton, Kathleen Curry of Gunnison, Jerry Frangas of Denver, Sara Gagliardi of Arvada, Karen Middleton of Aurora and John Soper, of Thornton.
Casso said later that he believes a possible repeal of the death penalty should go to the voters and shouldn’t be tied to the funding of the cold-case unit.
The bill has drawn mixed reactions among the relatives of crime victims.
Bob Crowell, whose daughter, Sylvia, was one of four people killed at an Aurora restaurant in 1993, said it would be a mistake to do away with Colorado’s death penalty. Sylvia’s killer, Nathan Dunlap, is one of two people on Colorado’s death row. Those sentences would remain in place if the bill were to pass.
“It is not right to the people of Colorado to do away with the death penalty,” said Crowell, who said he hopes that seeing Dunlap put to death will bring him some closure. “I have been working on forgiving him, I have partially forgiven him, but the big thing now is not that I want him personally put to death, though I do, but the big thing is we are probably going to have (more) murders.”
Attorney General John Suthers, a Republican, also opposes the bill, noting that Colorado has twice voted “overwhelmingly” to approve the death penalty.
For crimes such as terrorism, mass violence and killing witnesses, Suthers said, “it is probably not appropriate to incarcerate someone for life.”
A coalition of relatives of unsolved-murder victims applauded the bill.
“This vote by the House sends the strong message that we will no longer take a passive approach to old, unsolved murders,” Howard Morton, the executive director of Families of Homicide Victims and Missing Persons, said in a statement. “Colorado now intends to be pro-active in going after these killers.”
Staff writer Tom McGhee contributed to this report.
John Ingold: 303-954-1068 or jingold@denverpost.com
How they voted
Cindy Acree, R-Aurora, NO
Dennis Apuan, D-Colo. Springs, YES
David Balmer, R-Centennial, NO
Randy Baumgardner, R-Hot Sulphur Springs, NO
Debbie Benefield, D-Arvada, YES
Laura Bradford, R-Collbran, NO
Terrance Carroll, D-Denver, YES
Edward Casso, D-Thornton, NO
Lois Court, D-Denver, YES
Kathleen Curry, D-Gunnison, NO
Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver, YES
Randy Fischer, D-Fort Collins, YES
Jerry Frangas, D-Denver, NO
Sara Gagliardi, D-Arvada, NO
Bob Gardner, R-Colorado Springs, NO
Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, NO
Cheri Gerou, R-Evergreen, NO
Gwyn Green, D-Golden, YES
Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, D-Boulder Co., YES
Joel Judd, D-Denver, YES
Daniel Kagan, D-Cherry Hills Village, YES
John Kefalas, D-Fort Collins, YES
Andy Kerr , D-Lakewood, YES
Jim Kerr, R-Jefferson Co., NO
Steve King, R-Grand Junction, NO
Jeanne Labuda, D-Denver, YES
Kent Lambert R-Colo. Springs, NO
Claire Levy, D-Boulder, YES
Larry Liston, R-Colorado Springs, NO
Marsha Looper, R-Calhan, NO
Don Marostica, R-Loveland, YES
Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs, NO
Mike May, R-Parker, NO
Beth McCann, D-Denver, YES
Buffie McFadyen, D-Pueblo West, YES
Wes McKinley, D-Walsh, YES
Frank McNulty, R-Highlands Ranch, NO
Michael Merrifield, D-Manitou Springs, YES
Karen Middleton, D-Aurora, NO
Joe Miklosi, D-Denver, YES
Carole Murray, R-Castle Rock, NO
B.J. Nikkel, R-Loveland, NO
Sal Pace, D-Pueblo, YES
Cherylin Peniston, D-Westminster, YES
Jack Pommer, D-Boulder, YES
Dianne Primavera, D-Broomfield, YES
Kevin Priola, R-Henderson, NO
Joe Rice, D-Littleton, YES
Jim Riesberg, D-Greeley, YES
Ellen Roberts, R-Durango, NO
Su Ryden, D-Aurora, YES
Christine Scanlan, D-Dillon, YES
Sue Schafer, D-Wheat Ridge, YES
Judy Solano, D-Brighton, YES
Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, NO
John Soper, D-Thornton , NO
Amy Stephens, R-Monument, NO
Ken Summers, R-Lakewood, NO
Spencer Swalm, R-Centennial, NO
Scott Tipton, R-Cortez, NO
Nancy Todd, D-Aurora, YES
Glenn Vaad, R-Mead, NO
Edward Vigil, D-Fort Garland, YES
Mark Waller, R-Colorado Springs, NO
Paul Weissmann, D-Louisville, YES
