Lawmakers in Colorado hear testimony for bill that would make first-degree murder a non-bailable offense

DENVER — Currently, any Colorado defendant charged with first-degree murder has the right to bail. Sponsors and supporters of a new bill introduced in the Colorado House of Representatives hope to make the charge a non-bailable offense.

House Bill 24-1225, titled First Degree Murder Bail & Jury Selection Statute, has bipartisan support and reads that while everybody has the right to bail, there are certain exceptions for people charged with capital offenses . This bill, introduced on Feb. 8, aims to add first-degree murder when proof is evident or presumption is great to the list of exceptions.

Whitelaw said the defendant in her daughter's case, who has since been convicted, was held without bond after his arrest in 2022. On June 21, 2023, just after the Colorado Supreme Court ruling, a prosecutor notified her that the defendant would have a hearing about his bail.“Yet it still felt wrong that bond was even an option afforded to this killer, no matter the amount," Whitelaw said."I hope you allow Coloradans to decide at the ballot," she concluded during her testimony.

"But if you’re someone who doesn’t have access to that kind of capital – you would just have to stay in jail," she said. Liberties vs. safety: Should first-degree murder suspects have a right to bond in Colorado? Sen. Gardner, also a sponsor, said leadership on both sides of the aisle are working to change the state constitution to restore first-degree murder as a non-bailable offense.

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