On May 22, 2017 ADL Regional Director Scott L. Levin testified before the Denver City Council in support of a bill that reformed Denver’s criminal sentencing structure for violations of the Denver Revised Municipal Code.  The new ordinance establishes a tiered structure for sentencing.  In addition to the much discussed reduction of maximum sentences for most crimes to 300 days, which was done to avoid required notification to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials for crimes that carry a maximum penalty of 365 days, the ordinance added – for the first time – sentencing for bias motivated offenses.

Levin testified, “Bias-motivated crimes are message crimes.  They do not just target a victim. They target an entire community and tell them that people who look like them, who act like them, are not welcome.”  He went on to explain that it was important to pass the new ordinance because, “It sends a counter message that everyone is welcome in the City and County of Denver regardless of their actual or perceived race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Under the new ordinance, bias motivated offenses are treated as extraordinary risks of harm to the community.  As a result, conviction under the ordinance subjects offenders to a maximum sentence of up to one year.

Stories about the change in city ordinance also appeared in the May 22 edition of the Denverite and the May 23 edition of the Denver Post.