The Colorado Independent reports, "Files on Colorado’s two death row inmates ‘cloaked in secrecy’," by Susan Greene.
Court records have been sealed in the cases of Sir Mario Owens and Robert Ray, the two men still held on death row in Colorado.
Owens and Ray have been sentenced to death for the killings of Vivian Wolfe and her fiancé Javad Marshall-Fields, who was expected to testify against Owens and Raw in another murder investigation. The Owens and Ray cases – and Dunlap’s, too – were prosecuted in the 18th Judicial District under former District Attorney Carol Chambers. Chambers’ office, which pursued the death penalty far more often than any other DA’s office in Colorado, was criticized for failing to disclose key evidence, including information about police surveillance, alternate suspects, plea offers and other dealings with witnesses, that could have been vital to the defense.
As with all death penalty cases, Owens and Ray underwent dozens of court proceedings – including motions hearings and trials — that were open to the public. Six years ago, citing “witness protection issues,” District Court Judge Gerald Rafferty ordered most of the transcripts from those proceedings sealed from public view.
Years after his conviction, Owens’ lawyers have argued that the seals should be lifted because the witness protection measures are no longer needed.
Death penalty opponents and freedom of information advocates are interested in the transcripts for several reasons. Among them are questions arising from the fact that Owens and Ray (and Dunlap, as well) happen to be black in a predominantly white state and judicial district. With so much at stake, watchdogs want access to transcripts to explore any possibility that Colorado’s two death row inmates may be innocent. Questions also linger about accusations of prosecutorial misconduct on the part of Chambers, who was term-limited out of office earlier this year.
Earlier coverage from Colorado begins at the link.
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