The Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC) hosted a teach-in this month in Denver: “How Did We Get Here? Understanding Mass Incarceration in Colorado.” Colorado Radio for Justice’s Trevor Jones was there, and in this episode of UP TO THE MINUTE, he brings into incisive, urgent insights and reflections from four voices: Christie Donner, Executive Director of CCJRC; Kym Ray, CCJRC’s Denver Campaign Coordinator; Nathan Eagan, attorney at the Alternate Defense Counsel; and Aubrey Valencia from The Storytellers Project and Breaking Chains Building Bonds.

UP TO THE MINUTE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org

The State of Colorado Joint Budget Commission has approved a supplemental budget increase to add 153 private prison beds to Colorado's system. Why does our state need more prison beds now? Wasn't there a Prison Population Management Measure passed in 2018? How is the number of people in prisons having a domino effect on jails and halfway houses? And what's this about ICE and Homeland Security changing the equation on Colorado'ss facilities? Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ) hosts JoyBelle Phelan and Bob Eisenman sit down with Christie Donner, Executive Director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC), to break it all down.

UP TO THE MINUTE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org

00:00 Welcome to Up to the Minute
00:31 Introduction
00:57 $2.8M Funds to CDOC for 153 Private Prison Beds
02:39 Snapshot of State Supplemental Budget Process
03:50 Community Response to This Supplmenetal CDOC Funding
06:12 CDOC's Current Prison Vacancy Rates
07:36 The Prison Population Management Measures (PPMMM)
15:07 How CDOC Staffing Shortages Intersect with Low Vacancy
16:26 The "Tabled List" Of Prison Residents Whose Release Is On Hold
18:40 Value of Lived-Experience Perspectrives
19:16 Accountability of CDOC to PPMM
20:59 Quality Control on Facility, Department, & State Levels
23:34 "The Math Is Not Mathing:" The Jail Backlog
25:57 "The State Over A Barrel": Future Funding Requests, Private Prisons, & ICE
29:32 Inviting Community Ideas & Insight
30:11 Conclusion

The Colorado Legislature's Joint Budget Committee (JBC) will hold a special hearing this Monday, September 22, as they consider a request from the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) to supplement the CDOC's current budget, even in the midst of overall state budget cuts. Today on UP TO THE MINUTE, Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ) host JoyBelle Phelan sits down with Manige Blackburn and Kyle Giddings from the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC) to learn about CCJRC's No More Prisons campaign, which plans to pack the JBC hearing on Monday to object to the budget increase. What's the history of CDOC facilities funding? Why object to this increase? And: why now?

UP TO THE MINUTE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org

As the 2025 legislative session moves into the rearview mirror, it’s the finale episode of this season of UP TO THE MINUTE. Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ) hosts JoyBelle Phelan and Michael Clifton speak with Dana Steiner from the Colorado Freedom Fund about what’s next for municipal sentencing fairness in Colorado, after Governor Jared Polis vetoed House Bill 1147 after the session ended. Then, the Radio for Justice team takes a look back at this season of urgent dialogues about criminal-legal reform, and shares a glimpse of what’s ahead. That roundtable includes Phelan and Clifton, as well as CRJ hosts Tiffany McCoy and Trevor Jones.

UP TO THE MINUTE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org

CRJ hosts Bob Eisenman and Ryan Conarro sit down with Jennifer Dillon, Communications Coordinator for Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC), for a look at the day-to-day work of systems change, and a reflective conversation on CCJRC’s visions for a community-centered justice system. UP TO THE MINUTE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org

Governor Jared Polis has put his pen down. Bills are signed, vetoed, or dead on the calendar. Kyle Giddings & Kym Ray from the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition join CRJ hosts Michael Clifton and Tiffany McCoy to run through the wins and losses of their criminal-legal reform efforts, and those of others in their coalition, during this 2025 legislative session. UP TO THE MINUTE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org

In Part 2 of a two-part series, CRJ hosts Tiffany McCoy and Trevor Jones continue their incisive conversation with Dana Flores, the Colorado Campaign Coordinator for the Youth Justice Initiative with the National Center for Youth Law, about all things youth justice in our state. This is a continued conversation that began in last week's episode of UP TO THE MINUTE. UP TO THE MINUTE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org

In Part 1 of a two-part series, Dana Flores, the Colorado Campaign Coordinator for the Youth Justice Initiative with the National Center for Youth Law, dives into conversation about all things youth justice in our state, with CRJ hosts Trevor Jones and Tiffany McCoy. This conversation continues in next week's episode of UP TO THE MINUTE. UP TO THE MINUTE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org