{"id":24283,"date":"2024-12-21T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-21T20:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-clemencies-include-a-public-defender-and-many-community-volunteers\/"},"modified":"2024-12-21T20:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-12-21T20:00:00","slug":"colorado-clemencies-include-a-public-defender-and-many-community-volunteers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-clemencies-include-a-public-defender-and-many-community-volunteers\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado clemencies include a public defender and many community volunteers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Colorado
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis makes a point during a news conference after unveiling his balanced state budget proposal for fiscal year 2023-24 on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022. Colorado Democrats and Republicans both benefitted from so-called \u201cdark money\u201d donations during the 2022 election cycle. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski, File)<\/span>David Zalubowski<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gov. Jared Polis granted clemency to more than two dozen people on the Friday before Christmas week.<\/p>\n

The criminal convictions span decades, with some having occurred 40 years ago. Polis applauded the recipients for their dedication to sobriety and for serving their communities over the years.<\/p>\n

They include a woman convicted of drug distribution who has been sober for 16 years and helps others overcome their own struggles with addiction; a man, convicted of drug distribution, who became sober, built a successful business and promotes opportunities for businesses in marginalized communities; another man convicted of indecent exposure and drug possession in the 90s who now works as a substance abuse counselor and helps organize ocean cleanups where he lives.<\/p>\n

One pardon was granted to Buck Glanz, who was convicted of racketeering in 2011. Glanz later went to law school and became a public defender.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot everyone earns the privilege of a second chance,\u201d wrote Polis to Glanz. \u201cBut you have demonstrated that you deserve one. I hope you will make the most of this opportunity and treat your obligations seriously. It will require hard work and dedication to stay on the right path. But I have confidence you will move beyond these past mistakes and build a better life for yourself and your loved ones.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glanz is now a public defender in Albuquerque. In a phone interview with CPR News, he said he was deeply grateful to Polis for the pardon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really appreciate him recognizing that I’ve made a lot of efforts since my conviction,\u201d Glanz said. \u201cAnd it just feels really good to have that weight off my shoulders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Glanz said he took the law school entrance exam while in the Jefferson County detention center and that he was inspired to pursue the law by his situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly it was the feeling of disconnect you have when you’re in custody,\u201d said Glanz. \u201cWhere you can’t talk to anybody about your situation except for your attorney, and it made me want to help people go through that process.\u201d<\/p>\n

Colorado\u2019s constitution gives the governor broad discretion to grant clemency through pardons and commutations. A pardon is a forgiveness for a crime after an offender completes a sentence. For felony convictions, seven years must pass from the completion of the sentence. Misdemeanors require three years to pass from the end of their sentence.<\/p>\n

A commutation modifies a sentence. One commutation was granted by Polis to Victor Clark, who was serving a 66-year sentence for his participation in a series of bank robberies. He has been imprisoned for the last 13 years but will now become parole-eligible in 2030. Polis noted that Clark\u2019s sentence was more severe than his co-defendants.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis disparity, coupled with the work you have done while incarcerated, supports granting your application,\u201d wrote Polis in a letter to Clark. Polis also remarked on Clark\u2019s awareness of how his crimes impacted victims. Clark is involved in the church at the Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility and lives in a special unit reserved for inmates dedicated to bettering themselves.<\/p>\n

The timing of clemency is up to the governor, but it often coincides with the end of the year and the holiday season.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are remorseful and ready to advance to a new phase of life. I believe you will be successful upon your release,\u201d wrote Polis to Clark.<\/p>\n

To read more stories from Colorado Public Radio, visit www.cpr.org<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis makes a point during a news conference after unveiling his balanced state budget proposal for fiscal year 2023-24 on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2022. Colorado Democrats and Republicans both benefitted from so-called \u201cdark money\u201d donations during the 2022 election cycle. (AP Photo\/David Zalubowski, File)David Zalubowski Gov. Jared Polis granted clemency to more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[755,120,28,818,533],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-24283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-christmas","tag-colorado","tag-headlines","tag-jared-polis","tag-prison"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24283"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24283\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24283"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=24283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}