A Colorado Springs girl that pled guilty to Manslaughter (C.R.S. 18-3-104) was given two years of probation and mandatory counseling in exchange for a guilty plea. Her victim’s body was shot multiple times and found by a park maintenance worker on a trail near Palmer Park in El Paso County. So why was she allowed to plead to Manslaughter in a clear case of First Degree Murder (C.R.S. 18-3-102)? Why the light sentence? We learned a few weeks after the body was found that her victim was about to stand trial for Sex Assault on a Child (C.R.S. 18-3-405) and Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor (C.R.S. 18-6-701), and she was his alleged victim.
There was a day when I might have given this girl a pass for her crime of Murder. But I now know that allegations of Sexual Assault are often made in Denver, Arapahoe and Larimer County with motives too creative to imagine. Was she an angry teen wanting to date a particular boy? Did her mother want a divorce and all the marital assets? The accused, dead, El Paso County man will never have a chance to tell his story. Most people will choose to believe that justice was served when his alleged victim took revenge on her assailant. Yet in real life, people and their allegations in Adams County, Jefferson County, and Douglas County, are more complex. People that have done nothing bad at all are accused of terrible crimes.
The entire story will never be told in the above real life case. And stories like this remind me that every step in the Criminal Justice system is filled with imperfect people making decisions without all the information. Police, prosecutors, judges, and jurors are required to use their judgments in deciding whether to arrest, prosecute, and to convict people of crimes. The job of a defense lawyer is to make sure accused people are not overpowered by biased people that think they know the whole story.
At the O’Malley Law Office, P.C., we are dedicated to providing you with the best criminal defense possible. We fight hard against prosecutors who believe everything a woman says. We do the investigation job they fail to do. If you have been accused of Manslaughter, Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor, Sex Assault, or any crime in Denver or Arapahoe County, Colorado, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and call us at 303-731-0719. Together we can protect your future.