Category: In Their Own Words

Today, the House Judiciary Committee will hear SB26-115 Post-Conviction Relief for Certain Offenders. This bill updates Colorado law to expand access to post-conviction relief for eligible individuals after a criminal conviction. The bill allows certain offenders to seek sentence reconsideration or relief under specified conditions, creating an additional legal pathway for courts to review cases after sentencing.

Stand Fellow, Claudia Carrillo shared deeply personal testimony about growing up with an incarcerated parent, the lifelong impact incarceration has on families, and why Colorado must believe in growth, accountability, and second chances. Her story is a powerful reminder that behind every sentence is a family carrying the weight of separation, hope, and the possibility of transformation.

Claudia’s written testimony is attached below.

“My name is Claudia Carrillo, and I am a community advocate and leader in Denver. 

I am here today in support of Colorado Senate Bill 26-115. 

I also stand here as the daughter of an incarcerated parent. 

My dad has been incarcerated since I was in second grade. 

He was young when he made the decision that changed all of our lives. 

We grew up in poverty, and like many families, we did not know what resources were available to us. 

My dad made choices trying to provide for his family, and those choices came with serious consequences. 

But that is not where the story ends. 

Despite being incarcerated, my father never stopped being a parent. 

He encouraged me to do better, to stay in school, and to build a different path. 

My journey wasn’t perfect. I faced challenges, became a young parent, and had to find my own way. But I kept going. 

Today, I give back to my community and help others find the resources that my family didn’t have. 

While my father serves his sentence inside, my family and I have carried a sentence on the outside. 

And as time passes, that weight changes—but it doesn’t go away. 

It is stressful knowing your parent is getting older in prison. 

It is hard to answer the phone sometimes, not knowing what you might hear on the other end, or what might be happening to someone you love. 

My father is now getting older. He is a grandfather who has already missed out on so much. 

But he has also grown. He has changed. And he has spent years reflecting on his actions. 

That is what this bill recognizes. 

SB26-115 is not about automatic release. It is about giving people—especially those who were young at the time—a second chance to be reviewed after decades of time served. 

A chance to be seen not just for their worst decision, but for who they are today. 

Families like mine deserve that chance. 

I ask you to be the change we say we want for our youth. To believe in growth, in change, and in second chances. 

Because when you give one person a second chance, you restore a family and strengthen a community. 

Please support Colorado Senate Bill 26-115. 

Thank you—from the second grader my father left behind to the woman I have become today.” 

Today, the House Judiciary Committee heard HB26-1232 Court Costs Assessed to Juveniles.

When young people become involved in the justice system, the goal should be rehabilitation and opportunity, not financial punishment. Yet across Colorado, some families continue to face court costs and fees tied to mistakes their children made before turning eighteen, despite prior reforms intended to eliminate these burdens. House Bill 26-1232 takes an important step toward closing these gaps and ensuring that children and their families are not saddled with debt for actions committed during childhood. Hunter Ambrose, one of Stand’s Policy Fellow submitted written testimony before the legislature, sharing why this bill matters; not only as a policy change, but as a step toward a more just system that supports healing, accountability, and opportunity for young people and their families.

Hunters written testimony is attached below.

“Good afternoon Chair and members of the committee. My name is Hunter Ambrose. I am here today in support of House Bill 26-1232. I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak on a policy that strengthens Colorado’s commitment to meaningful juvenile justice reform. 

This bill is simple, but incredibly important. It ensures that court costs and fees are not assessed to juveniles who commit offenses before the age of eighteen. Colorado has already taken steps to eliminate many of these harmful fees, but gaps still exist in practice. Families continue to fall through the cracks, and some are still being charged fees that should not be imposed. 

House Bill 26-1232 closes those gaps. 

No child should carry financial debt because they made a mistake while they were still a child. And families should not be punished financially while trying to support their children through difficult moments. 

I can speak to this issue not only as an advocate, but as someone with lived experience in the juvenile justice system. My story and my experiences navigating that system are documented in my book, Relentless: Surviving the Los Angeles Foster Care System and Emancipation. I know firsthand how systems can either create opportunity for healing and growth, or they can deepen the challenges that families are already facing. 

When we impose court costs and financial penalties on children and their families, we are not promoting accountability. We are creating additional financial barriers for families who are often already struggling. Parents and guardians should be focused on helping their children move forward — supporting their education, stability, and growth — not worrying about how they will pay court-imposed fees for mistakes made during childhood. 

Colorado has already recognized that these fees are harmful by passing HB21-1315, bi-partisan legislation that eliminated certain juvenile fees and costs and forgave an estimated $10.4 million in outstanding debt. The right thing to do now is ensure that there are no gaps in implementation. 

House Bill 26-1232 strengthens trust in our justice system by ensuring that policies meant to protect children are actually followed consistently across the state. Children are still developing. They make mistakes. Our justice system should focus on rehabilitation and opportunity, not financial punishment. 

I am asking you to vote yes on House Bill 26-1232 and continue moving Colorado toward a more just and equitable juvenile justice system. Thank you for your time and for your commitment to Colorado’s youth and families.”

Yesterday, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard HB26-1017 Criminal Restitution Prohibited for Insurers. The bill addresses issues in Colorado’s restitution system by prioritizing payments to direct victims rather than institutional payors like insurance companies that have already compensated victims.

Aaron gave testimony in support of the bill, sharing his experience navigating Colorado’s restitution system after incarceration and describing how restitution orders can grow indefinitely due to interest and payments directed toward institutional claims rather than victims. His testimony highlights how current restitution structures can create lifelong, unpayable debt that undermines rehabilitation and reentry, even for individuals who have served their sentences and are working to rebuild their lives.

Aaron’s written testimony is attached below.

“Chair Weissman, members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to share my experience with Colorado’s restitution system. I am here today in support of HB26-1017.

In 2018, I was convicted of vehicular assault and sentenced to twelve years in the Department of Corrections. I take full responsibility for what I did. I hurt people, and I served my time. While incarcerated, I earned my bachelor’s degree in computer science, served as a wildland firefighter, and prepared myself to re-enter society as a productive citizen. I am now out, employed, and I have not reoffended.

The Numbers That Expose the System

The court ultimately ordered $298,710 in restitution in my case. Of that amount, only $6,205 was direct victim restitution — money owed to the people I actually hurt. I have paid $5,245 of that, leaving a balance of $959.73. The remaining $292,505 — over 98% of the original order — was ordered to government agencies and insurance programs through subrogation claims. These are entities like TRICARE and military medical programs that had already compensated the victims through their existing coverage. I have paid nothing toward those claims — not because I refused to, but because the system directs my payments to direct victims first.

Under Colorado law, restitution accrues interest at 8% per year. As of today, the interest alone on the insurance subrogation portion is $179,403 — nearly thirty times the entire amount of direct victim restitution in my case. My total balance now stands at $475,739. I pay $100 per month. The state intercepts my tax refunds and has placed liens on my property. At this rate, the debt grows faster than I could ever pay it, even if I dedicated every spare dollar I earn to restitution for the rest of my life.

The Lifelong Consequences

This debt is not dischargeable in bankruptcy. It does not expire. It follows me until my death — and for two years beyond it. I cannot build credit. I cannot purchase a home. The 8% statutory interest rate compounds on a balance I can never meaningfully reduce. Every year, I fall further behind despite doing everything the system asks of me.

I served twelve years. I came out and rebuilt my life. I am working, I am paying, and I have stayed out of trouble. But the system is not designed for me to succeed. It is designed for a debt to grow in perpetuity — not to make victims whole, but to serve as a permanent collection mechanism for institutional payors that have already been compensated through their own programs.

I Tried to Work Within the System

I want this Committee to know that I did not simply accept this situation. I tried to resolve it through the process Colorado law provides. Under Section 18-1.3-603, restitution may be reduced with the consent of the prosecuting attorney and the victim. So I hired an attorney and attempted to negotiate lump-sum settlements with the agencies listed on my restitution order.

My attorney contacted the District Attorney’s restitution office. He left voicemails. He sent emails. He followed up repeatedly. The restitution office manager never responded. My attorney then attempted to reach the agencies directly. They had no obligation to negotiate, and they did not engage.

My own attorney ultimately advised me that pursuing a settlement was not worth the legal fees, because the agencies receiving my restitution have no incentive to negotiate. And why would they? They hold a permanent judgment backed by the State of Colorado, accruing 8% annual interest, with automatic enforcement through tax intercepts, liens, and wage garnishments. No private creditor in America has that kind of collection power. There is no reason for any institutional payor to accept a reduced settlement when the alternative is a guaranteed, state-enforced, interest-bearing judgment that never expires.

I spent money I did not have on legal counsel to try to resolve this debt responsibly. The system gave me no path to do so. The statute requires consent that will never be given, because the system removes every incentive to give it.

Restitution Is Not a Collection Agency

Colorado’s restitution statute declares three purposes: to make victims whole, to deter future criminal conduct, and to rehabilitate offenders. See § 18-1.3-601, C.R.S. In my case, the system is accomplishing none of them.

The victims have already been made whole. Their medical costs were covered by their insurance programs. The direct victim restitution owed to them was $6,205, and I have paid all but $959.73. Of my total $475,739 balance, 99.2% goes to government agencies and insurance programs — not to any person I harmed.

The debt does not deter future criminal conduct. I served twelve years in prison. That is the deterrent. An unpayable financial obligation growing at 8% per year on top of a completed prison sentence does not add meaningful deterrence. It adds despair.

And the debt actively undermines rehabilitation. The legislature recognized that restitution should serve as a “mechanism for the rehabilitation of offenders.” A permanent, mathematically unpayable debt that prevents someone from building credit, purchasing a home, or achieving financial stability does the opposite. It punishes reentry. It punishes the very behavior the system is supposed to encourage.

When restitution stops serving its statutory purposes and becomes an indefinite revenue stream for institutional payors, it is no longer restitution. It is a collection agency operating under the authority of a criminal sentence. That is not what this legislature intended when it enacted the restitution statute, and it is not what justice requires.

Why I Support HB26-1017

HB26-1017 takes a critical step toward fixing this system. The bill’s legislative declaration states the right principle: direct victims should be prioritized, and insurance companies that compensated victims through their business operations should recover losses through civil remedies rather than criminal restitution orders. That principle is sound, and it is long overdue.

Criminal restitution was designed to make victims whole. It was not designed to give institutional payors a permanent, state-enforced collection mechanism with 8% guaranteed interest and no expiration date. This bill begins to restore the system to its intended purpose by ensuring that restitution dollars go to the people who were actually harmed, not to insurance companies that have already been compensated through their own business models.

I urge this Committee to pass HB26-1017.

Closing

I did something terrible. I went to prison for it. I paid my debt to the people I hurt. I came home and built a life. I hired a lawyer and tried to resolve the remaining debt through the process the law provides. The system would not let me.

HB26-1017 is a meaningful step toward a restitution system that serves its actual purpose — making victims whole, not enriching institutions at the expense of people who are trying to rebuild their lives. I support this bill, and I ask you to pass it.”

Thank you for your time and your consideration.