Family and Friends of unsolved-murder victims are asking Colorado lawmakers to eliminate the death penalty and use the money to focus on cold cases instead.
The House Judiciary Committee scheduled a debate Monday on a bill that would do that. The legislation would shift funds currently used to prosecute death-penalty cases to deal with the growing backlog of more than 1,400 unsolved homicides that have stymied local investigators since 1970.
Death penalty cases are expensive because the court process is complicated and usually involves multiple appeals.
In 2007, a similar bill passed the house judiciary committee but lost on the house floor under intense pressure from District Attorneys and the State Attorney General.