Author: John Kellner
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Perspective: Colorado’s competency crisis
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Children on the playground at Black Forest Hills Elementary School in Aurora yelled “stranger danger!” as they ran away from a man who allegedly tried to kidnap an 11-year old child. The man accused of that crime, Soloman Galligan, was a registered sex offender. At…
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Perspective: Colorado’s competency crisis
Children on the playground at Black Forest Hills Elementary School in Aurora yelled “stranger danger!” as they ran away from a man who allegedly tried to kidnap an 11-year old child. The man accused of that crime, Soloman Galligan, was a registered sex offender. At the time this happened in 2024, no one knew why…
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Perspective: The fentanyl fight goes on
Colorado has seen signs of progress in the fight against fentanyl, but we are nowhere near declaring victory. To craft a path forward, Colorado will have to bolster its successes with new ideas and new energy. New data make it clear that the overdose crisis responds to policy at both the state and federal levels.…
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Perspective: Legislating leniency
Colorado is increasingly well-known — not for our world-class skiing, hiking and mountain views — but for the unenviable position as the third most dangerous state in the country, according to U.S. News & World Report. Of course, elected officials from the city level to the governor know all about our growing public safety problems.…
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The 18th made strides in the crime fight
For the past four years it has been my great honor and privilege to serve as District Attorney for the 18th judicial district, representing Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert, and Lincoln counties. The 18th is the state’s most populous judicial district and is home to over 1.1 million Coloradans. The end of my term also marks the…
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GUEST OPINION: Public safety, justice, and mental health
The path to safer communities in Colorado requires drastic improvements in the treatment of those with significant mental health disorders. Compared with other states, Colorado provides woefully inadequate behavioral health treatment for people in need. That unfortunate reality is reflected in many cases in our criminal justice system. As district attorneys representing a diverse population…
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PERSPECTIVE: The hidden cost of auto theft
Last month, I co-led a bipartisan group of eight district attorneys in launching data dashboards that shed new light on how the justice system operates. While each district attorney approached this project with similar goals — to improve the justice system through increased transparency — I wanted to use the data to better understand crime…
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GUEST COLUMN: Fentanyl crisis needs stronger legislation
Colorado is in the midst of an epidemic, and the fight against fentanyl is truly life and death. Since 2015, Colorado has suffered 1,578 fentanyl deaths — a number equivalent to the enrollment at Denver South High School — and amounts to a staggering 1,008% increase. Since 2019, the increase in fentanyl deaths in Colorado…
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GUEST COLUMN: Fentanyl crisis needs stronger legislation
Colorado is in the midst of an epidemic, and the fight against fentanyl is truly life and death. Since 2015, Colorado has suffered 1,578 fentanyl deaths — a number equivalent to the enrollment at Denver South High School — and amounts to a staggering 1,008% increase. Since 2019, the increase in fentanyl deaths in Colorado…
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GUEST COLUMN: Shocking fentanyl deaths must be addressed
In Colorado, more than two people a day are dying from fentanyl overdoses. That’s 64 people each month. We are tragically on pace to lose more than 700 fellow Coloradans this year alone to these poison pills. That’s a terrifying number, but it’s even more shocking compared to 2019, when the fentanyl overdose death total…