SB26-115 Post-Conviction Relief for Certain Offenders

The act sets forth a process for a person in prison to petition within the next 3 years for resentencing and for a court to impose a new sentence if the petitioner is 60 years old or older at the time of filing the petition and has served at least 20 calendar years incarcerated for the offense. A person is not eligible to petition if the person is incarcerated as a result of conviction for a sex offense, human trafficking, an offense that resulted in a sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, an offense for which the victim was a child younger than 12 years old, or an offense against a first responder engaged in the performance of their duties.     At the hearing on the petition, the petitioner has the burden to show by a preponderance of the evidence that the petitioner no longer presents an identifiable danger to the safety of any person or the community and that there is good cause for the court to modify the sentence. Upon the court finding that the petitioner has met their burden, the petitioner is permitted to file a motion for reconsideration and reduction of the initial sentence pursuant to the Colorado rules of criminal procedure. At the hearing on the motion, the court shall determine and impose the appropriate sentence.     If a person in prison is not eligible for resentencing pursuant to the act, the district attorney's office that prosecuted the offense resulting in the conviction may petition the court requesting that the court grant post-conviction relief. If the district attorney's office petitions the court, the same procedures apply as if an eligible person petitioned.     The act appropriates $50,840 to the judicial department for use by the public defender and $50,326 to the department of corrections for use by community services, and reduces the appropriation in the annual general appropriation act for the 2026-27 state fiscal year to the department of corrections for payments to local jails by $168,980.(Note: This summary applies to this bill as enacted.)