DENVER (KDVR) — Loved ones lost, cases dismissed and dangerous criminals walking free. Families and lawmakers across the state are demanding immediate change to a 2024 law they say is putting lives at risk.
People gathered outside the Colorado Supreme Court, coming with broken hearts and a clear message.
“To speak loudly and loudly against these competency laws that really just seek to prioritize the rights of a perpetrator over the victims,” said Lori Gimelshteyn, executive director of the Colorado Parent Advocacy Network.
Backed by 6,000 petition signatures, speakers on Thursday demanded that district attorneys take a stand and lawmakers rewrite laws petitioners say are letting violent offenders walk free.
“In 2024, I actually voted for this bill,” said Senator Barbara Kirkmeyer. “We were told as we read through the bill and worked through this bill that these individuals who committed these horrendous crimes would either be in a correctional facility or committed to an institution. Unfortunately, that is not what’s going on with this law. There’s a serious flaw; the law is broken and we need to fix it.”
Outside Colorado’s highest court, emotion ran high.
Some held signs, others held pictures of loved ones taken too soon. Those photos include Kristy Kersy, killed by a man who later had his case dismissed.
Kristy’s daughter, Britany Visage, was struggling to speak through her tears, describing the kind of person her mother was.
“She was so beautiful and she had such a hard life, but she was so adorable,” said Visage. “Can’t just wasn’t a word in her vocabulary. She loved us so much and she lived for being a grandmother.”
From shootings to attempted kidnappings to murders, speakers who took to the podium say these aren’t flukes, they’re the fallout of a system with a legal loophole big enough for even killers to slip through.
“We made people in Colorado victims because we passed this law,” said Representative Scott Bottoms.
Governor Jared Polis promised action last month, saying he supports stronger statutes, but families say promises don’t protect lives. They want a special session now before another name ends up on a sign or a gravestone.
“We will find the funding,” Kirkmeyer said. “We will look at how do we find the beds that are necessary, so that these people can be put into a commitment as what was promised when this law that was passed in 2024. It’s not just the governor who can call a special session and if he won’t do it, we should call on our leadership, majority leadership in this state, to pull us back in and call a special session ourselves. We can do that with a 2/3 vote, and we should fix this probably immediately.”
The Colorado Parent Advocacy Network is urging district attorneys across the state to sign their public safety declaration by next week. As of Thursday, no statewide legislative changes have been made, and no timeline has been given for a special session.
Anthony Sutton is a business strategist and writer with a passion for management, leadership, and entrepreneurship. With years of experience in the corporate world, he shares insights on business growth, strategy, and innovation through management-opleiding.org.
