Democrats bill to downgrade felony-murder. "A Democrat bill denounced by Republicans as soft on crime drew a hail of fire Wednesday from prosecutors, who said the measure would make it harder to prosecute teens who participate in brutal killings...the Democrat majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee decided to delay action pending revisions to Senate Bill 66, authored by fellow Democrat Sen. Suzanne Williams, of Aurora...(To) treat murder in the first degree as a less serious, class 2 felony if the defendant was under 18 years old at the time of the offense, was convicted as an adult, and did not commit or assist in committing the murder. The controversial measure throws a curve at the state’s “felony-murder” statute, used to prosecute criminal cohorts in homicide cases...Williams, a retired teacher, insisted her intent was to help juveniles, “…caught in the wrong place at the wrong time,” the bill drew fierce opposition form the Colorado District Attorney’s Council, including from Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey. Morrissey testified against the measure at Wednesday’s hearing and at one point engaged in a heated joust with Williams...In one such case, he said, a woman who had been kidnapped and severely injured was left outside and died of exposure. Technically, Morrissey said, no one committed the final act killing the woman, yet a jury found that, clearly, all the kidnappers’ actions led to her death". Excerpted from The Colorado Senate News.
Democrats have promised to reschedule the bill for a vote.
