Double mass shootings last weekend set a disturbing United States record for the most mass shootings in a single year.
Then on Wednesday a gunman walked onto the campus at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and killed three members of the business school’s faculty, critically injuring a fourth.
To date, 38 mass shootings broke the previous 2006 year record of 36, as defined by incidents in which four or more people have died, not including the assailant. Here, in Colorado, we are all too familiar with the devastating impact of mass shootings.
And, while mass shootings get the most attention, they are simply the tip of the iceberg and a small percentage of firearm-related deaths. Gun violence is a serious public health problem and a leading cause of premature death.
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were more than 48,000 firearm-related deaths in the U.S. in 2022, which translates to about 132 people dying from a firearm-related injury every day. Four out of every 10 were firearm homicides. In Colorado gun deaths reached a 40-year high in 2021, and there can be no doubt that when data for 2022 and 2023 are released the number will be much higher.
While there are many factors driving up gun violence, most experts agree that access to firearms is the primary factor.
This should be a call to action, but we are all familiar with the script. Our elected officials send their thoughts and prayers to victims and communities, but little to nothing is done.
Fortunately, leaders like Colorado’s United States Attorney Cole Finegan are stepping into the void.
In Colorado, some felons may legally possess firearms under recent changes to state law. The crime “possession of a weapon by a previous offender,” with a few exceptions, is now limited to felonies that fall under the Victim’s Rights Act. As a result, police and state prosecutors cannot seize firearms from these felons when they are encountered and the guns remain on the street.
Even when convictions are obtained, inmates earn 10-12 days of comp time per month in Colorado’s prison system, depending on the statute of conviction, and they frequently serve less than 50% of their total sentence in prison before they are paroled.
Under federal law, however, a felon cannot possess a gun or ammunition, and any felony can be a predicate for federal prosecution. There are also greater penalties for possession, with a maximum of a 10-year sentence. Federal law also has mandatory minimum sentences for using a gun to commit violent crimes. And there is no parole in the federal system. In fact, those convicted under federal law generally must serve 85% of their sentence before being eligible for release on probation, although some motivated inmates can receive additional credit if they participate in rehabilitative programming.
Finegan has used the federal law to more aggressively pursue cases but he had a limited number of attorneys and staff to more aggressively prosecute these cases. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Colorado had approximately 45 prosecutors for the entire state. By contrast, there are over 750 prosecutors in the 22 District Attorney offices in Colorado.
In 2022, Finegan sought to expand the number of violent crime prosecutors in his office who handle federal cases by seeking to partner with local jurisdictions in Colorado where violent crime is most significant.
Denver and Aurora both answered the call and provided a total of five attorneys who are now deputized as federal prosecutors and handling violent crime cases at the federal level. These so-called Special Assistant United States Attorneys, four from Denver and one from Aurora, work in the United States Attorney’s Office, but their salaries are paid by their home jurisdictions. After launching the program in 2023, the SAUSAs have opened more than 66 matters focused on gun crimes in Denver and Aurora.
In addition to prosecuting felons who are illegally possessing weapons, these prosecutors are handling other violent crimes with guns, including take-over style bank robberies, as well as cases where someone without a criminal record illegally buys guns for convicted criminals.
And soon, the number of additional prosecutors handling these kinds of cases could be nine. Governor Jared Polis included a provision in his proposed budget to fund four more SAUSAs. These new SAUSAs will be funded through the Colorado Attorney General’s Office and will be able to work on cases across the state.
Finegan told me that, “a lot of violent crime is perpetuated by a smaller number of people than you think”, and that by using federal laws and tools to prosecute these cases, they are taking these dangerous felons off the streets for longer periods of time. Finegan added, “we are very grateful that Denver, Aurora, the Governor, and the Attorney General are such active partners.”
This program is so promising that other U.S. Attorney’s Offices around the country are looking at replicating Finegan’s model.
As the legislature convenes in January, it is incumbent for them to make Colorado safer by approving this budget request and passing stronger laws to address these anomalies.
Doug Friednash grew up in Denver and is a partner with the law firm Brownstein Hyatt Farber and Schreck. He is the former chief of staff for Gov. John Hickenlooper.
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