Democratic Gov. Jared Polis said Wednesday if lawmakers pass a proposal to end the state’s death penalty, he’ll commute the sentence of convicted murderer Nathan Dunlap to life in prison.
“If the state, Republicans and Democrats, were to say, and I were to sign, a bill that said we no longer have the death penalty in Colorado ... I would certainly take that as a strong indication that those who are currently on death row should have their sentences commuted to life in prison,” Polis said.
Dunlap was sentenced to death for murdering four people in Aurora in 1993. Polis’ predecessor, John Hickenlooper, favored the death penalty when he entered office but later changed his mind. As a result, he delayed Dunlap’s execution, but stopped short of commuting his sentence.
Read the rest of the story at Colorado Public Radio.
