New Colorado Bill: Kids 12 And Under Not Allowed To Be Charged For Crimes, With One Exception

DENVER (CBS4) - Children ages 12 and younger could no longer be prosecuted for any crime except murder under a bill at the state Capitol.

State analysts say about 500 kids between the ages of 10 and 12 enter Colorado's criminal justice system every year. Under the bill by Rep. Serena Gonzalez-Gutierrez those kids could no longer be prosecuted nor detained for any crime other than murder.

"We're talking about 10,11, and 12-year-olds. I just want to be very clear, we're talking about children," says Gonzalez-Gutierrez.

The bill also prevents kids 13 and under from being charged as adults and 14-year-olds from being charged as adults only if it's a class one or two felony.

She says those kids need help, not detention.

"So how do we actually address their needs rather than putting them through additional traumas," said Gonzalez-Gutierrez.

Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty heads up the Colorado District Attorneys Council. All 22 elected DAs oppose the bill.

"We see attempted murders, sex assaults, stabbings," says Dougherty.

He argues the bill does a disservice to victims and offenders.

"If a 12-year-old boy rapes a 10-year-old next door, we owe it to her and her family to ensure we support the victim and provide them with the resources that they need and also to make sure that the 12-year-old accepts responsibility never commits that act again," says Dougherty.

Dougherty says the juvenile justice system dispenses the very services Gonzalez-Gutierrez wants but, he says, her bill doesn't provide.

"We leave them to a child welfare system that's currently overwhelmed with the cases they do have, and not equipped or funded to do this additional work," says Dougherty.

He insists kids who get help in the juvenile system are less likely to enter the adult system.

Gonzalez-Gutierrez disagrees, "When young children become involved in the system early on, that they are then put on this trajectory to become even more involved."

Groups representing Colorado Counties and Municipalities also oppose the bill, saying the kids will end up in the Child Welfare System, which is overwhelmed and not equipped to manage many of them.

Rep. Gonzalez-Gutierrez plans to amend the bill and set-up a task force to identify services.

The DA's Council and law enforcement say a change of this magnitude should go to the Colorado Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice - a non-partisan group made up of all stakeholders in the justice system.

Seven states currently set the age of delinquency at 12. Colorado is among 15 states that sets it at 10. Most states have no minimum age.

The bill got its first hearing Wednesday in the House Judiciary Committee. Testimony lasted several hours and a vote was postponed.