Proposition 128 – Reduce Parole Eligibility for Crimes of Violence

One part of Prop 128 would increase the amount of time a person convicted of certain crimes of violence must serve from 75% of their sentence minus earned time to at least 85% of their sentence. A second part of Prop 128 would make a person convicted for the third time of a crime of violence ineligible for parole.

Discretionary parole happens when a convicted person has not finished their sentence and the State Board of Parole releases the convicted person from prison under community supervision. Earned time further reduces time behind bars when a person makes progress toward personal, professional, or educational goals. Prop 128 would not subtract any earned time from the 85% requirement.

Prop 128 would not affect the parole eligibility of a person convicted of a crime committed before 2025.

Recommendation: No

Each indicted person should be judged at trial on the merits of their individual case. Each convicted person should be judged for parole on their individual case rather than setting an artificial, across-the-board limit. Keeping people who can be constructive members of society in prison is counterproductive. Prohibiting earned time from being included in the time served also is the wrong incentive.

The judge who sentences a person convicted of crimes of violence knows the parole eligibility rules and can adjust the sentencing (within parameters) on the front end. Later the State Parole Board can accept or deny a person’s application for parole. Leaving some wiggle room is a more humane way to mete out justice.

Website for the Yes Side (Advance Colorado)
https://www.advancecolorado.org/2024ballot/

Website for the No Side (Coloradans for Smart Justice)
https://www.coloradansforsmartjustice.org/no-on-128


Approved Ballot Language
Proposition 128 (STATUTORY)

Shall there be a change to the Colorado Revised Statutes concerning parole eligibility for an offender convicted of certain crimes, and, in connection therewith, requiring an offender who is convicted of second degree murder; first degree assault; class 2 felony kidnapping; sexual assault; first degree arson; first degree burglary; or aggravated robbery committed on or after January 1, 2025, to serve 85 percent of the sentence imposed before being eligible for parole, and requiring an offender convicted of any such crime committed on or after January 1, 2025, who was previously convicted of any two crimes of violence, not just those crimes enumerated in this measure, to serve the full sentence imposed before beginning to serve parole?

YES/FOR ___
NO/AGAINST ___

Prop 128 initiative language filed with the Secretary of State
https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Initiatives/titleBoard/filings/2023-2024/112OriginalFinal.pdf