AURORA | Rhonda Fields, still emotionally shattered by the murder of her son and his fiancée, felt a shred of closure when their killers were sentenced to death in 2008 and 2009.
She was just a mom and Aurora resident back then. Now, as a second-term Democratic state Representative from her home town, Fields is considering sponsoring a bill that would allow voters to decide the fate of the very same punishment that was handed down to her son’s murderers.
And she’s not the only Aurora lawmaker considering a bill related to capital punishment. State Sen. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, who opposes the death penalty, is considering introducing a measure that would attempt to end capital punishment through the state Legislature.
Both Fields and Carroll said Jan. 4 they were still in the research phase of their proposals, and they have not formally filed bills yet.
Carroll’s proposal would be the most recent attempt to repeal the death penalty since 2009, when a similar bill failed by one vote in the Colorado Senate.
This year, insiders say there’s a chance a death-penalty repeal bill could end up with a different outcome, as Democrats control the House, Senate and governor’s office. But any conversation about the death penalty — a controversial topic that doesn’t fall on party lines — would take place against the backdrop of the trial of James Holmes, who allegedly opened fire in an Aurora movie theater July 20, killing 12 people and injuring 70.
Fields says any conversation about repealing capital punishment, and the ultimate decision, should be left to Colorado’s voters instead of the 100 state lawmakers that comprise the Colorado
Legislature.
“I just think the citizens and the state should weigh in on what they think adequate justice should be for people who commit murders,” she said.
If Fields moves forward with a referendum, and the measure passes, voters would be asked in the November 2014 election whether they want to repeal the death penalty.
Fields’ view on the death penalty is complex. Though she says she doesn’t think the punishment is a deterrent for murder, she says she opposes repealing the death penalty because a capital punishment sentence is often times the only way victims can feel that justice has been served. Punishing a criminal by death, to the full extent of the law, is indicative of the atrocity of the crime, she said.
“I’m living with the loss of my son and his fiancée every single day … What I focus on is that I did get justice. I feel very fortunate as a victim,” Fields said.
Death row inmates Sir Mario Owens and Robert Ray killed Fields’ son, Javad Marshall-Fields, and his fiancée, Vivian Wolfe, in 2005. They were killed just before Marshall-Fields was set to testify against Owens and Ray in another murder case. Owens and Ray are two of three men, all from Aurora, currently on Colorado’s death row. The third man is Nathan Dunlap, who was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of four people at a Chuck E. Cheese restaurant in Aurora.
The death penalty sentence is used sparingly in Colorado. In the 30 years since the state reinstituted the death penalty, just one person has been executed — Gary Lee Davis in 1997 for the 1986 murder of his neighbor near Byers.
Carroll, a fellow Democrat and personal friend of Fields, says her take on the death penalty is simple: for many reasons, it just doesn’t work.
“Some of the most horrific crimes we’ve seen have happened despite having the death penalty on the books,” she said. She defends her position against capital punishment on moral and fiscal grounds. “It’s hard to send a message that killing is wrong by killing,” she said. And, she said statistics show the death penalty is unequally applied to criminals and sometimes death-row inmates are wrongly convicted. She estimates the state could save more than $1 million if the death penalty were repealed.
The cost savings would affect public defenders’ budgets, attorney generals’ budgets, and state prison budgets, she said. Her bill, if introduced, would put that savings toward mental health services.
If passed, the proposal would not be retroactive, meaning it wouldn’t have any impact on criminals who are currently on death row, under Carroll’s proposal.
Like any controversial idea, Carroll says it will be an uphill battle to try and pass a bill that produces such charged emotions and legitimate arguments.
Supporters of the death penalty such as newly elected Adams County District Attorney Dave Young say it’s a vital tool for prosecutors — even in cases where a defendant isn’t sentenced to death.
In some cases, just the threat of the death penalty can lead a defendant to take a plea deal that sentences them to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
“It happens and that’s swift justice,” he said. “If you don’t have that hanging out there, no one is going to plead guilty and get life in prison if they know that’s what they are going to get going to trial.”
Young has sought the death penalty several times as a prosecutor and in one case a judge sentenced the defendant to die. In that case, which happened in Colorado Springs, the sentence was later overturned on appeal when the courts ruled a jury, not a judge or panel of judges, could sentence a defendant to death.
In Aurora, Young said the possibility of the death penalty was vital in getting a plea deal from Damian Arguello for the 2005 slaying of his wife and infant son.
In that case, rather than face a possible death sentence, Arguello pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two life terms. The deal saved Arguello’s other children from having to testify, Young said.
“If the death penalty wasn’t there, the case could still be in litigation,” he said.
Democrat Young’s perspective is proof that capital punishment isn’t an issue that falls on party lines, either under the Capitol dome or outside of it.
“This runs to the deep, intimidate belief system where there are very real, legitimate issues on both sides,” Carroll said. However, she says there are lawmakers who have changed their positions on the topic since the last death penalty-repeal bill floundered in 2009.
They include lawmakers such as state Sen. John Morse, D-Colorado Springs, who originally helped kill the death penalty repeal bill in 2009 but said recently he’s changed his position on the issue, according to the Denver Post.
The issue of capital punishment conjures up complex emotions from victims of violent crimes, such as Joe Cannata, whose daughter was murdered 25 years ago. Her killer was freed from prison in 2006. Through his two victim advocacy organizations, Voices of Victims and the Parents of Murdered Children support group, Cannata represents victims who are on both sides of the issue.
But he personally believes the death penalty should remain in place and reserved for people who commit the most heinous crimes, such as Holmes, the accused Aurora theater shooter. It should be up to Colorado residents to have a conversation about a repeal, he said, favoring Fields’ proposal. “If it’s going to be repealed, it should be up to the people,” he said.
Aurora Sentinel reporter Brandon Johansson contributed to this report.
Reach reporter Sara Castellanos at 720-449-9036 or sara@aurorasentinel.com.
Aurora Sentinel, you write pretty well.