HB 13-1270 Summary

• Repeals the death penalty in Colorado for offenses committed on or after the effective date, making life imprisonment the mandatory sentence for Class 1 felonies.

• Does not commute or alter sentences of defendants convicted before the effective date, preserving existing death sentences.

• Makes conforming amendments throughout Colorado criminal statutes to remove references to capital punishment procedures, sentencing hearings, and appellate review processes specific to death penalty cases.

• Refers the question of repealing the death penalty to Colorado voters at the next biennial general election with the ballot proposition: "SHALL THE DEATH PENALTY BE REPEALED IN COLORADO?"

• Changes Class 1 felony sentencing to include mandatory parole periods and earned time provisions that were previously only applicable to non-capital offenses.