Proposition 128 is a citizens initiative that aims to reduce crime and ensure justice is served by proposing a change concerning when a person convicted of a violent crime is eligible for parole, a system designed to supervise people convicted of crimes after they are released from prison.
Unless sentenced to life in prison without parole, all people convicted of crimes are eligible for and released through discretionary or mandatory parole, the minimum and maximum time, respectively, a person must serve in prison.
Current law requires that people convicted of certain crimes of violence must serve 75% of their sentence before being eligible for discretionary parole, minus time earned for progressing in professional, educational or personal development goals.
The initiative proposes increasing discretionary parole eligibility from 75% to 85% of a served sentence; people with two previous violent crime convictions would have to serve the full sentence before being eligible for parole; and it would make people convicted of a third crime of violence ineligible for discretionary parole or earned time reductions.
Currently, approximately 220 people annually are sentenced to prison for committing crimes of violence and serve an average 23 years in prison. If this measure passes, time served will increase, as will the Department of Corrections’ costs between $12 million and $28 million in approximately 20 years.
From fourth quarter 2023 to first quarter 2024, the Colorado Division of Criminal Justice reported a 9% decrease in the rates of violent crimes, marking the lowest violent crime rate in three years.
We are currently seeing favorable reductions in violent crime statewide, there is no known evidence of longer prison terms reducing violent crimes, and as state corrections’ costs would increase, The Journal’s editorial board encourages a “no” vote.
