Juston Cooper, deputy director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, wants to see district attorneys take a more active role in calling out bad police practices and refuting racist narratives around crime and public safety.
“We need to shine a light (on police malpractice),” he said. “But my experience is prosecutors and police work hand in hand.”
Cooper and Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty talked Sunday about racism and the criminal justice system as part of a month-long series of screenings and discussions. Presented at the Museum of Boulder, the free series was created in honor of Black History Month by the NAACP Boulder County and the Korey Wise Innocence Project. It’s funded by Boulder’s Human Relations Commission.
The screenings, with the last one scheduled Feb. 23, are from Ava DuVernay’s miniseries “When They See Us” on the wrongfully convicted “Central Park Five.”
Dougherty, whose work as district attorney has included initiating a wrongful convictions unit and a mental health diversion program, has said criminal justice reform is among his goals as a prosecutor.
Sunday, Cooper and Dougherty agreed on most points, including the importance of helping those who have been incarcerated successfully reenter society.
Dougherty said Colorado ranks among the worst in the country when it comes to rehabilitating people coming out of state prison. Roughly half of those released from state prison return within three years in Colorado, he said. In contrast, the nationwide average for recidivism is 32%.
“We don’t have nearly enough mental health and substance abuse treatment,” he added.
Cooper said many of those who land back in jail didn’t commit new crimes. Instead, he said, they violate the terms of their probation or parole because of the “collateral consequences” of incarceration, including difficulties in getting hired and finding housing.
The two main areas where they disagreed were the value of anti-bias training and the need for prosecutors to have immunity from lawsuits for their charging decisions.
Dougherty said the reaction in his office to previous anti-bias training was all positive, with more sessions requested — and planned — this year.
Cooper said anti-bias training may be helpful as part of a new prosecutor or police officer’s “initiation,” but it doesn’t alter behavior or create accountability.
“It doesn’t connect dots for me,” he said. “It may create some kind of awareness, but then what?”
Immunity, Cooper said, also hampers accountability and should be addressed.
“Prosecutors have enormous power,” he said, noting none of the prosecutors involved in the “Central Park Five” case could be sued for malpractice and instead got to keep their jobs.
Dougherty countered immunity allows prosecutors to make decisions without fearing a wealthy suspect could sue them if not convicted. Without immunity, the wealthy would have even more power in the criminal justice system, he said.
Cooper ended by urging the audience to carefully consider the language they use, including saying “public health and safety” instead of “public safety.”
“Implanting that one word changes the narrative,” he said.
If you go
What: Screening of part four of “When They See Us,” followed by a presentation by Shareef Cousin, who was wrongfully convicted of first-degree murderWhen: 3 to 6 p.m. Feb. 23Where: Museum of Boulder, 2205 Broadway, BoulderTo register: http://bit.ly/2QzVZUl
