Douglas County prosecutor testifies against early-release bill for violent criminals

DENVER — Douglas County prosecutor Nathan Marsh testified before the Colorado Senate Judiciary Committee against a bill that would create new pathways to early release for some of the state’s longest-serving prisoners, calling the measure part of a broader pattern of Democrat lawmakers prioritizing offenders over victims.

Marsh, a Republican candidate for Colorado House District 43, appeared on The Kim Monson Show to discuss his opposition to SB26-115, the “Post-Conviction Relief for Certain Offenders” bill sponsored by Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, and Sen. Mike Weissman, D-Aurora. The bill passed out of committee on Feb. 25.

“The only people in Colorado right now that would even be eligible for this are people who have committed multiple murders or are habitual violent criminals,” Marsh said. “… They wanted to create a whole new process that kind of modeled it off of California and Washington, D.C., and said, well, we want to let these people out early and give them yet another way out of prison.”

The bill’s actual eligibility criteria are age-based: inmates who committed their offenses before age 21, or who are currently 60 or older, and who have served at least 20 calendar years. According to The Denver Post, 137 people in Colorado state prisons would automatically qualify to seek sentence reductions, with another 164 first-degree murder convictions eligible only with a prosecutor’s support. Legislative staff estimated that roughly 19 prisoners would actually be released.

Marsh framed the bill as an attack on victims’ rights, particularly given Colorado’s lack of truth-in-sentencing laws. “If you say, hey, you’re going to get 10 years in prison, that 10 years doesn’t mean 10 years,” he said. “… What Democrats are trying to do is saying, hey, let’s release more of these people. And we strip the one thing away that we can give victims is this finality.”

The bill also faces opposition from George Brauchler, district attorney in the 23rd Judicial District, who told The Denver Post it undermines Proposition 128, the voter-approved 2024 measure requiring people convicted of certain violent crimes to serve at least 85% of their sentence before parole eligibility.

Marsh connected the early-release bill to the legislature’s gun control agenda, pointing to SB26-043, which would require firearm barrels to be sold through federally licensed dealers and mandate five years of record-keeping. Critics, including Sen. Lynda Zamora Wilson, R-Colorado Springs, have called the measure a step toward a de facto gun registry. “Even this session, we have another bill going right now that would basically create a de facto gun registry here in Colorado,” Marsh said.

Asked about the state of Second Amendment rights in Colorado, Marsh was blunt: “The short answer is I think it’s a travesty and I think it’s unconstitutional.” He added, “These are not amendments and rights that government has given us. These are rights that we have just because we are people, because we’re humans.”