David Sabados to lead political effort to repeal Colorado death penalty

Veteran Colorado (and national) politico David Sabados has a new mission: getting rid of the death penalty.

Sabados will the executive director for Coloradans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty to find supportive candidates and eventually pass legislation.

The organization calls the death penalty “a failed policy that too often risks innocent lives, is applied unequally to those who are economically disadvantaged and from communities of color, and is financially and morally unsound.”

Sabados has worked on many of the state’s highest profile Democratic campaigns, including stints for Andrew Romanoff, John Kerry, James Mejia and Joe Biden in Iowa, as well as a consultant to the ColoradoCareYes, the failed bid to pass a state single-payer health care system in 2016.

He unsuccessfully challenged Rick Palacio as state party chairman in 2015. Last year he was elected the state party’s first vice chair. Sabados is a past chairman of the Colorado Young Democrats.

The last significant Democratic effort to repeal the state’s death penalty was five years ago, but Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper made it clear he wouldn’t sign the measure even if the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate sent it to him. Hickenlooper is in his last year, because of term limits.

“Public opinion on the death penalty has continued to shift in the last few years, with a growing percentage of Coloradans either opposed or unsure about using the death penalty,” Sabados said in a statement. “I’m proud to be working with a dedicated board, activists, and volunteers who are committed to making death penalty abolition a reality in our state.”

Colorado has three people on death row. Nathan Dunlap got a death sentence for killing four people at an Aurora Chuck E. Cheese in 1993. He is joined by Robert Ray and Sir Mario Owens, co-conspirators responsible for a double murder in 2005. One of the victims, Javad Marshall-Fields, is the son of now-state Sen. Rhonda Fields, a prominent Democrat from Aurora. He had been expected to testify against Ray and Owens in another murder case.

Sabados is restarting an organization that lost its leader last year when Carla Turner passed away “after a short, but intense battle with breast cancer,” the organization said in an e-mail at the time. She was 55.

“Carla was a light to everyone around her and while no one can replace her, we’re excited to be working with David, who brings over a decade of experience winning tough political fights in our state,” Phil Cherner, chairman of the organization’s board, stated.

Coloradans for the Death Penalty will hold a relaunch event on March 19 from 6 to 8 p.m. at Wash Park Grille in Denver.