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A new report commissioned by the Interior Department provides a window into the fatal mistreatment of inmates in its tribal jails. The review comes on the heels of a Mountain West °µºÚ±¬ÁÏ Bureau and NPR investigation that found a pattern of neglect and misconduct contributing to at least 19 deaths at tribal detention centers overseen by the Bureau of Indian Affairs since 2016.

Today on Colorado Edition, we hear from two doctors about the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in hospitals. We also learn about new programs in Larimer and Jackson counties meant to divert adults from the criminal justice system.

Colorado’s 8th Judicial District recently expanded diversion opportunities for adults in order to emphasize personal growth and repair harm within the community.

Racial disparities are deeply pronounced in state prisons across the nation – and some Western states top the list.

Trial delays caused by the pandemic meant that Christopher Gauntlett spent 525 days in jail in Nevada before he was found not guilty. His case likely isn’t unique.

In 2019, Colorado launched a new program to keep people with unmet mental health needs out of the criminal justice system. But, over the summer, pandemic-related budget cuts gutted these mental health diversion programs.

In dozens of Colorado communities, co-responder teams respond to emergency calls helping de-escalate, evaluate and connect people in crisis with services instead of jail time. Law enforcement leaders say these programs and indispensable and need to expand.

Jails in many parts of the Mountain West have high rates of inmate deaths, according to a recent investigation by Reuters. The landmark project analyzed data from 2008 to 2019 in large jails across the nation. Montana, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico all had death rates higher than the national average.

Last year, on a warm Saturday evening in Boise, Idaho, Timmy Earl Kinner Jr. walked into the birthday party of a family. In a random attack, he stabbed...

After two decades in prison, Brad Simpson became a free man on Sept. 30. The 39-year-old has never paid rent, had an email account or registered to vote…