First Regular Session Seventy-first General Assembly STATE OF COLORADO REVISED HJR17-1025 LLS NO. R17-0883.01 Gwynne Middleton x4340 HOUSE SPONSORSHIP Williams D. and Salazar, Coleman, Covarrubias, Humphrey, Lebsock, Neville P. SENATE SPONSORSHIP Hill and Moreno, House Committees Senate Committees HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 17-1025 THE REQUEST THAT GOVERNOR HICKENLOOPER 102 EXERCISE HIS AUTHORITY TO GRANT CLEMENCY TO 103 LIMA-MARIN. RENE 1 2 3 4 WHEREAS, In 2000, at the age of 19, Rene Lima-Marin and an accomplice were convicted of burglary, aggravated robbery, and second-degree kidnapping and given consecutive sentences of 98 years; and 5 6 7 WHEREAS, While Lima-Marin was young at the time of committing the crime and not fully aware of the severe consequences of his actions prior to arrest, he was rightfully convicted at trial; and 8 9 10 11 12 WHEREAS, Despite the initial stiff sentence, the public defender who reviewed Lima-Marin's case file after sentencing assured him that, if he behaved while incarcerated, his sentence would be greatly reduced, never explaining that the reduced sentence was due to a rare clerical error; and 13 14 WHEREAS, While incarcerated, Lima-Marin became a model inmate, joining a small Christian prayer group that focused on personal Shading denotes HOUSE amendment. Double underlining denotes SENATE amendment. Capital letters indicate new material to be added to existing statute. Dashes through the words indicate deletions from existing statute. SENATE Final Reading May 4, 2017 CONCERNING HOUSE Amended Final Rdg. April 21, 2017 101 1 2 responsibility and service to others, and, with a clean behavior record, was granted parole in April 2008; and 3 4 5 6 WHEREAS, During the five years of his parole, Lima-Marin maintained a spotless record, fulfilling all the terms of the parole without incident and overcoming the many obstacles the formerly incarcerated face when reentering society; and 7 8 9 10 11 12 WHEREAS, The life Lima-Marin created outside of prison was that of a model citizen, working his way from menial jobs to a skilled career in construction, marrying his long-time girlfriend, raising his adopted son and the son he and his wife had after marrying, purchasing a home, and serving in his local church as a youth group leader who ministered to young people in group homes; and 13 14 15 WHEREAS, In the intervening years between his initial incarceration and reincarceration, Lima-Marin strived to be a productive, taxpaying member of society rather than a tax burden on the state; and 16 17 18 19 WHEREAS, When Lima-Marin was notified about the error and told he must return to prison, he surrendered to authorities of his own volition rather than evade capture, a strong testament to his honesty and moral conviction; and 20 21 22 23 WHEREAS, By releasing Lima-Marin early and then reincarcerating him because of the clerical error, the state is enacting cruel and unusual punishment by separating him from his family and the life he built as a rehabilitated, free citizen; and 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 WHEREAS, The criminal justice system claims to not only be about upholding justice but about reforming offenders, which is exactly what Lima-Marin's initial incarceration achieved as evidenced by the life he led during incarceration and in the years following his release; and 32 33 34 WHEREAS, There are a number of worthy cases for pardons or clemencies other than Lima-Marin's, and these cases are currently under consideration by the governor; and WHEREAS, Over the past decades pardons and clemencies granted by governors in Colorado and other states have declined dramatically; and -2- 1025 1 2 WHEREAS, Lima-Marin is deserving of clemency by the governor due to the dramatic positive changes he has made in his life; and 3 4 5 6 7 WHEREAS, Because of the rare nature of this administrative error, the Colorado General Assembly believes the equally rare granting of clemency authorized by the governor would eliminate a court decision that could set a problematic precedent for other cases in the future; now, therefore, 8 9 Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the Seventy-first General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the Senate concurring herein: 10 11 12 That we, the Colorado General Assembly, urge Governor Hickenlooper to use his executive authority to grant clemency to Rene Lima-Marin. 13 14 15 16 17 18 Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to Governor John Hickenlooper; members of Colorado's Executive Clemency Advisory Board; George Brauchler, District Attorney of the 18th Judicial District; Honorable Carlos A. Samour, Jr., Chief Judge of the 18th District Court; Rene Lima-Marin; and Lima-Marin's wife Jasmine Lima-Marin. -3- 1025