DENVER – A man accused of killing a Colorado sheriff’s deputy in 2018 will no longer face the death penalty if he is convicted during his trial, which has been delayed until at least April 17 because of the coronavirus outbreak.
District Judge Mark Warner on Wednesday granted a petition from prosecutors to drop the death penalty as a possible punishment for Dreion Dearing, 24, who is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Adams County Sheriff’s Deputy Heath Gumm. In the petition, 17th Judicial District Attorney Dave Young said it was pointless to pursue capital punishment against Dearing because Gov. Jared Polis has shown he will commute death sentences, The Denver Post reported.
Last month, Colorado became the 22nd U.S. state to abolish the death penalty after Polis signed a repeal bill into law. He also commuted the sentences of all three men on Colorado’s death row to life without possibility of parole.
The law only applies to cases filed on or after July 1 so Dearing was still eligible to face the death penalty. He has pleaded not guilty.
