Up to the Minute

In this second part of a Colorado Radio for Justice series on Proposition 132, CRJ host Trevor Jones sits down with Kyle Giddings from the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC). Prop 132 will be on the ballot next month in Colorado. It’s a measure that would set mandatory sentencing for anyone possessing fentanyl or fentanyl-tainted drugs, knowingly or not, with a required minimum of 8 to 32 years in prison, removing prosecutorial and judicial discretion. Giddings deeper into the questions and concerns around Prop 132, and what it might mean for Colorado’s future. CRJ has reached out to Advance Colorado, the action group behind Prop 132. At the time of this episode release, they have declined to speak with our team, but our invitation still stands to give listeners the opportunity to hear directly from them on this ballot measure.

For more about Prop 132, check out:

CCJRC’s info site: getthefactsco.org 

The site of Advance Colorado: https://www.advancecolorado.org/institute/public-safety/ 

And, for more education about fentanyl in our communities, check out the State of Colorado’s Behavioral Health Administration site https://fentanyledcolorado.org/resources/  

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

In the upcoming midterm election, Coloradans will find Proposition 132 on their ballots. It’s a measure that would set mandatory sentencing for anyone possessing fentanyl or fentanyl-tainted drugs, knowingly or not, with a required minimum of 8 to 32 years in prison, removing prosecutorial and judicial discretion. In this first part of a Colorado Radio for Justice series taking a look at Prop 132, CRJ host Trevor Jones interviews Manige Blackburn-Giles of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC). Blackburn-Giles breaks down the measure: she says it measure springs from real community concerns about the fentanyl crisis - a crisis that is deeply personal to Blackburn-Giles herself. But, she says, the measure could cost the state $433 million and incarcerate about 900 more people annually, and may increase overdoses by deterring calls for help. She says Prop 132 resurrects mandatory minimums that already failed during the War on Drugs, and that it includes no funding for effective responses like behavioral health care, Medicaid, and harm reduction. Stay tuned to Up to the Minute for an ongoing look at the Fentanyl Ballot Measure. For more about its ramifications, check out:

• CCJRC’s info site: www.getthefactsco.org 
• The site of Advance Colorado, the interest group backing the measure - https://www.advancecolorado.org/institute/public-safety/ 
• And, for more education about fentanyl in our communities, check out the State of Colorado’s Behavioral Health Administration site https://fentanyledcolorado.org/resources/  

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

00:24 Welcome & Introduction
01:11 Understanding Ballot Measures
03:20 The Fentanyl Ballot Measure Explained
04:56 Current Laws & Mandatory Minimums
06:21 The War on Drugs & Deterrence
07:21 Who's Behind the Measure
08:19 Community Impact & Personal Stories
10:40 Alternative Solutions to Sentencing
12:52 Why Fentanyl & the Trafficking Problem
16:12 Arguments Against the Measure
19:24 Unintended Consequences
20:29 Harm Reduction & Funding
24:33 Voter Advice & Closing

The 2026 Colorado legislative session ended in May after 120 days, hundreds of bills, and a tight, high-stakes budget. Would Kyle Giddings of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition give this session’s criminal-legal developments an A, a B, an F…? Listen or watch to find out, as Colorado Radio for Justice host JoyBelle Phelan invites Giddings to break down what passed and what changed, including the “second look” post-conviction bill (SB 26-115), restitution reform limiting insurance companies’ role as restitution “victims,” and a reentry support bill (SB 26-1256) requiring $100 gate money and preventing DOC from denying IDs due to legal financial obligations. They also discuss a trauma-informed training requirement for peace officers; Giddings’ personal experience navigating steep restitution interest rates; and much more. 

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

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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