For more than a year, Denver7 Investigates has reported a 2024 change in Colorado’s competency law and the impacts it is having on the state’s legal system.
Prior to the change, the law stated that a judge “may” dismiss cases against defendants who have been found incompetent and not restorable. The new law changed the word “may” to “shall,” eliminating any wiggle room judges may have had in the past.
That small change started having an immediate impact, Denver7 Investigates learned after we were contacted by Dr. Scott Green in late 2024. Green was concerned that charges against a man who stabbed him in 2024 would be dismissed due to this new law because the suspect, Ross McPherson, was repeatedly found unfit to stand trial and not restorable.
Even more concerning to Green was the possibility that McPherson would be released back into the public since he would no longer be eligible for mental health services he was receiving while in jail.
The charges against McPherson were dropped, and a bed opened up for McPherson at the state’s mental health hospital after Denver7 Investigates started asking questions.
However, other cases soon came to light with different outcomes.
In the case of Joseph and Billie Jo Bowman, the siblings lost their mother 10 months after a crash that left all three of them with serious injuries when their car was hit by Guillermo Ramirez, who was driving more than 100 miles an hour and was under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Ramirez’s passenger, Brisia Leon, died at the scene.
However, Ramirez’s case was dismissed earlier this year after he was repeatedly found incompetent due to a brain injury suffered in the crash. Ramirez walked out of court the day his charges were dropped.
More cases would follow, and the spotlight on the state’s law would get brighter.
Critics of the bill said there was no funding attached to boost mental health services in the state and ensure that dangerous people aren’t released without treatment.
One of the bill’s main sponsors, State Sen. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, said that it would have been preferable to have funding, but they also wanted the bill to pass.
Later in the year, as calls for reform grew louder, multiple district attorneys and Gov. Jared Polis weighed in on the law, saying it needed to be looked at next session.
This 30-minute special will highlight all of Denver7 Investigates’ coverage on the complexities during the past year.
