DENVER — The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a sweeping investigation into alleged violations against inmates across dozens of Colorado correctional facilities, according to a DOJ letter sent to Governor Jared Polis on Monday.
In the letter, the DOJ's Civil Rights Division said the department is examining the 21 state prisons operated by the Colorado Department of Corrections (DOC) and the 12 residential youth centers run by Colorado's Department of Human Services' Department of Youth Services (DYS).
The DOJ's investigation will focus on whether there is a pattern of constitutional rights violations, such as inadequate medical care, unsafe and unsanitary conditions, and excessive force against juveniles. It will also examine if Colorado is violating inmates' religious rights by housing biological males in female units.
The letter said the DOJ will work with state officials to address any potential violations before taking issues to court.
David Lane, a Denver civil rights attorney who has decades of experience representing Colorado inmates, said his law firm regularly sues the DOC for what he calls human rights violations.
"Every year we may have three or four cases against the Department of Corrections, where they settle the case for some significant money for our clients for violating their constitutional rights," said Lane. "I've had cases where a guy is belly chained and ankle shackled. A guard bends over, grabs the ankle chain, pulls as hard as he can, so the guy falls on his face, cracked his head open on a cement floor. I mean, this kind of stuff goes on on a regular basis."
While Lane said he welcomes the investigation looking into conditions inside state facilities, he's skeptical about the timing and intent behind the federal push. Two weeks ago, the state DOC rejected a request from the Federal Bureau of Prisons to move former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters to federal custody. Peters is serving a nine-year prison sentence for her role in orchestrating a scheme to breach election voting machines, driven by false claims of fraud in the 2020 election.
"Payback to Jared Polis because he won't turn Tina Peters over to federal custody so Trump can let her out of jail, that's what's probably motivating this," said Lane. "But the fact is, it doesn't matter what's motivating it if DOJ actually is going to do the job that they're paid to do, which I'm very skeptical of."
DOJ officials have not responded to our questions about what led them to open an investigation into Colorado facilities.
In separate statements to Denver7, the state DOC and DYS both said they were aware of the federal investigation and are reviewing the details of the letter. Governor Jared Polis' office and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser's office both had no comment on the investigation.
In 2024, Denver7 Investigates spoke with FrankieRhea Chiles, a former inmate at Mount View Youth Services Center in Lakewood, who filed a lawsuit over a 2022 incident. According to Chiles' lawsuit, a detention worker picked him up, slammed him to the ground, and pressed a knee on his chest while he said he could not breathe. The lawsuit also claims the facility director dismissed his allegations.
Mari Newman, the attorney for the former inmate, said the case resulted in a $350,000 settlement.
"There is a pervasive culture of brutality and the use of excessive force against youth. And this is really troubling because, I mean, obviously, it's awful in any sort of law enforcement capacity. But here what we're talking about are youth who... have no outlet, no place else to go, and so they're in facilities where these are their teachers," said Newman.
She said that while she wants to see safer conditions inside youth detention facilities, she also questions what led to the federal investigation examining state prisons.
"It is certainly the case that we're in a time where the Department of Justice is being used as a political tool, and so that... that certainly gives one reason to have pause about the timing of any investigation, particularly against a blue state," said Newman.
However, she said if the federal government focuses on meaningful change to facility conditions, she believes the investigation is appropriate and welcome.
