Author: Mitch Morrissey
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Perspective: Fighting back at fentanyl
For years, Colorado has tried to find the humane center of its response to addiction. It is a tricky balance to keep people alive, expand treatment, and avoid turning every person with a substance-use disorder into a lifelong felon. Those are worthy aims. Compassion belongs in our drug policy. Compassion, though, must be judged by…
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PERSPECTIVE: Colorado’s human trafficking is getting worse
I have seen evil in the world, and it does not go away because we as a society would prefer it to. It needs to be fought energetically. Human trafficking sounds like a Hollywood crime carried out by mafiosi and transnational cartels, but the reality is up close, life-destroying and pernicious. After 33 years as a prosecutor in Denver, I have…
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Perspective: Time to crack down on retail theft
Shoplifting and organized retail crime have quietly reshaped the economics of doing business in the state of Colorado. This impacts not only the costs of business itself, but the economic welfare of the state at large. This is a structural drag on Colorado’s economy that touches every consumer, worker, local government and business. Colorado is…
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Perspective: Justice delayed — safety denied
Addressing Colorado’s DNA testing kit backlog has important implications for justice and the economy. Resolving this issue will not only provide justice for survivors of sexual assault but also will mean averting the negative impact on the Colorado economy that happens as a side effect. The state has been dragging a serious problem with its…
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GUEST OPINION: Killer’s release would set ‘dangerous precedent’
One of the first challenges I faced after being sworn in as Denver District Attorney in 2005 was a crime that shook Denver, the cold-blooded shooting of two Denver policemen — resulting in the death of Officer Donnie Young. Both wore bulletproof vests and would have survived, but the killer chose to shoot Young three…
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PERSPECTIVE: Stealing our wheels
When it comes to motor vehicle theft, Colorado ranks No. 1 in the nation. The really bad news, the numbers for 2022 have put us on pace to repeat the notorious title. This month, Common Sense Institute (CSI) released a new study detailing the latest statistics on motor vehicle theft in Colorado. The numbers are…
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PERSPECTIVE: Stealing our wheels
When it comes to motor vehicle theft, Colorado ranks No. 1 in the nation. The really bad news, the numbers for 2022 have put us on pace to repeat the notorious title. This month, Common Sense Institute (CSI) released a new study detailing the latest statistics on motor vehicle theft in Colorado. The numbers are…
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PERSPECTIVE: Flawed policies cause a crippling crime wave
Pick up any paper or tune in to the evening news on any given day — it is no surprise — Colorado is in the middle of a crime wave. Colorado’s crime numbers rival those of the infamous 1993 “Summer of violence.” In 1993, Denver experienced 74 homicides —so many that Gov. Roy Romer called…