People v. District Court

The plurality1 holds that H.B. 91S2-1038,2 which authorizes the death penalty to be imposed as punishment for crimes committed before that statute was enacted, is consistent with the provisions of the Colorado and United States Constitutions prohibiting the enactment of ex post facto laws. See Colo. Const, art. II, § 11; U.S. Const, art. I, § 10, cl. 1. I respectfully dissent, placing reliance principally on the Colorado Constitution.3

Lest technical legal analysis obscure the nature and gravity of the controversy, it is important to keep in sharp focus the salient facts and the central…