Dear Michael,
Our worst fears have been confirmed.
The Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC) is requesting $200 million to purchase and renovate a shuttered private prison owned by CoreCivic, and a decision could come within days.
If you’ve been waiting to take action, this is the moment.
Colorado is already facing a one and a half billion-dollar budget shortfall, and lawmakers are making painful cuts, including:
- A $52 million decrease in K-12 education funding
-
Reducing pay for at-home caregivers supporting people with severe disabilities
- Freezing enrollment for children in the Cover All Coloradans healthcare program
But this week, DOC and the Governor’s office went back to the Joint Budget Committee (JBC) after lawmakers already rejected their request for 941 additional prison beds.
Instead of bringing a plan, they doubled down, asking for:
-
Funding for those same 941 prison beds, and
- An additional $200 million to buy Huerfano Correctional Center in Walsenburg, a private prison that has been mothballed since 2010
The Governor’s budget office proposes using $100 million from emergency reserves and financing the rest through long-term debt, costing the state significantly more in interest.
Senator Judy Amabile, who sits on the JBC, called the request "obscene."
This is not about public safety.
Colorado’s prison growth is driven by policy choices — not crime.
- Fewer people are being released on parole, even when eligible
-
People are being sent back to prison for technical parole violations
- There is a critical lack of reentry housing, keeping people stuck inside or struggling on the outside
There are other options. But instead of fixing the structural issues, DOC is asking for an expensive bandaid in the form of a new prison.
The JBC rejected the 941 beds to force DOC and the Governor’s office to come back with real solutions. They haven’t. Now we need to make sure lawmakers hold the line.
Take action today!
Use our quick and easy toolkit to email the Joint Budget Committee and members of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.
Tell them: Hold the line — No more prisons.
