The second regular session of Colorado's 75th General Assembly adjourned on May 13. In layman's terms: the legislature wrapped up their work last week. While state senators and representatives were pushing what bills they could across the finish line, and blocking others, JoyBelle Phelan from Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ) sat down a few blocks away at the office of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC) with their Deputy Director, Kyle Giddings. In this episode, they take stock of what criminal-legal-related bills are headed to the governor's desk, to await signature or veto. Phelan and Giddings also take a look at some critical ballot measures on the horizon this fall in Colorado, and they dig into key questions: Do CCJRC's positions fly in the face of Prop 128 (2024)? What should voters make of the looming fentanyl ballot measure? And what's the number one misunderstanding the public has about the carceral system?

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

It’s become a familiar refrain: budget crisis, bed shortages, private prison purchase prospects, and population measure changes. But what can actually be done to change the game for corrections in Colorado? In this episode of Up to the Minute, Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ)’s JoyBelle Phelan hears from Kyle Giddings from the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC). Turns out, there are some possible solutions on the horizon: new bills moving through the Colorado legislature; a proposed working group that would bring together voices from inside and outside state prisons; and a standoff in Walsenburg that may help redirect tax dollars toward more proactive prison measures.

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

This week, Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ) brings you updates on numerous fronts in criminal-legal news, with guests Kym Ray from End Slavery Colorado and Jennifer Dillon from the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC). CRJ host JoyBelle Phelan quizzes Ray and Dillon on the pending prison labor lawsuit; the continued back-and-forth by the state government on the Department of Corrections' requested bed/budget increase; a series of new prospective bills on criminal-legal reform; and, last but not least, the prospect - or specter - of clemency for incarcerated Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters.

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

Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ) host JoyBelle Phelan picks up where she left off in conversation with Kyle Giddings from the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC): the Colorado Joint Budget Committee (JBC) voted "no" on a Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) request for a budget increase in order to add more prison beds. ... But then, they changed their minds. Why? What does this mean for both residents and staff of Colorado's crowded prisons? Plus, how CCJRC works to make 'bad' criminal justice bills better... and, a new edition of The Go Guide.

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

As the 2026 Session of the Colorado General Assembly kicks off, the state Joint Budget Committee (JBC) meets to consider the Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) request for a budget increase in order to add more prison beds. The JBC votes "no." Why? What's next? Today on UP TO THE MINUTE, Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ) host JoyBelle Phelan sits down with Kyle Giddings from the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC) to learn about what might be next for Colorado's packed prisons, and what's on the horizon in criminal justice policy during the new legislative session.

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

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 listeners 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 who also serves with 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