Colorado criminal justice advocates are viewing the U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the state’s adult prisons and juvenile detention centers with a healthy dose of skepticism, hoping the Trump administration will conduct a thorough probe while wondering whether the entire announcement amounts to little more than a political stunt.
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, in a letter Monday to Gov. Jared Polis, said it will examine “policies and practices” within the Colorado Department of Corrections and Division of Youth Services to determine whether the state is violating the constitutional rights of adult inmates and youth detainees through excessive force, inadequate medical care and nutrition, and policies surrounding the housing of transgender offenders.
The Polis administration has said very little about the federal investigation. A spokesperson for the governor referred questions to the DOC. A spokesperson for that agency said they were reviewing the details of the letter. A DYS spokesperson, meanwhile, said the state is “deeply committed to the safety and well-being of the youth in our facilities.”
The DOJ has done little to hide its intentions behind the investigation.
Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, who signed the letter to Polis, has retweeted several social media posts linking the DOJ’s Colorado probe to an attempt to free the imprisoned former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters.
Peters, 70, is serving a nine-year sentence in state prison in Pueblo for felonies related to providing unauthorized access to voting equipment when she was the elected clerk and recorder of Mesa County. She had worked with prominent election deniers in an attempt to prove discredited claims that voting machines were manipulated, and she’s been a prominent supporter of Trump’s debunked claims of fraud in the 2020 election.
Trump has frequently called for her release and his Justice Department previously requested to have her transferred into federal custody — a request denied by Colorado corrections officials. On Thursday evening, the president claimed to grant Peters a “full pardon” — a power he does not wield for a person convicted of state-level crimes.
DOJ investigating whether Colorado prisons and youth detention centers violate inmates’ rights
Colorado industry watchers couldn’t help but notice the timing of the federal announcement. Yet they say they’re holding out hope that some good could come out of it, despite the murky intentions.
“In this political climate, how can you not be skeptical?” said Christie Donner, executive director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition. “I hope it’s a legitimate investigation. We live in a time of political theater. I think many of us have been having conversations with healthy skepticism. Is this a sincere attempt to do an outside investigation or is this a political stunt?”
Still, criminal justice advocates said there is plenty to examine in Colorado’s prisons. Rampant allegations of excessive force by staff in the state’s youth detention facilities. Malnutrition concerns in a facility for youth offenders convicted as adults. The emptying of the Lookout Mountain Youth Services Center over serious safety concerns for staff and youth.
“I’m not surprised the DOJ finds this situation to be one that merits their involvement,” said Dana Walters Flores, Colorado campaign coordinator with the National Center for Youth Law. “When you have a situation where there are serious violations of children, youth and adults in state care, it is always a possibility that the DOJ Office of Civil Rights will pay you a visit.”
While the intent of the Trump administration is unclear, more transparency into the conditions of Colorado prisons is rarely a bad thing, said Anaya Robinson, public policy director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado.
“While we may disagree with what that intent is, and we don’t know that currently, we do find it beneficial for an investigation to occur,” Robinson said.
Disability Law Colorado, which promotes the rights of disabled and older individuals, filed formal complaints with the DOJ in 2022 and 2023, outlining “ongoing rights violations” in the DOC.
The complaints concerned inadequate medical and behavioral health care, improper classification and unsafe housing for people with disabilities, disproportionate use of seclusion and denial of federally required accommodations.
“It’s not that there’s been no progress, but there hasn’t been the kind of progress we hope to see,” said Meghan Baker, a senior staff attorney with Disability Law Colorado. “We hope this national attention and additional resources and funding will lead to some positive outcomes.”
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