Spero Justice Center

Ending Mass Incarceration in Colorado Starts With Us

Spero Justice Center (SJC) was founded on a simple belief: Colorado cannot have a fair or safe justice system while thousands remain trapped under outdated and extreme sentencing laws. We work to end mass incarceration by addressing one of its root causes — long, disproportionate sentences and the lack of meaningful opportunities for release.

Colorado’s incarceration crisis is the result of decades of policy choices. In 1980, the state imprisoned 2,658 people; today, more than 18,000 people are in state prisons and 8,500 more are on parole. This surge is not tied to increased crime, but to laws that dramatically expanded sentence lengths and restricted release options.

The financial cost has soared alongside the prison population. Colorado now spends over $1 billion a year on its prison system — a 1,288% increase over 35 years — without corresponding public safety benefits. Thousands of people remain incarcerated under sentencing schemes the state has since rejected, and nearly one-quarter are serving sentences of 40 years or more with no viable path to relief unless they receive legal help.

These burdens fall disproportionately on communities of color. Black Coloradans represent 4.7% of the state but 17% of the prison population, and about 60% of people serving life sentences are Black or Latinx. These disparities reflect longstanding inequities across policing, prosecution, and sentencing.

This is the work SJC takes on every day. We provide rigorous legal representation to individuals serving extreme sentences. We also pursue statewide reforms to make sentencing more rational, humane, and aligned with evidence.

Your support on Colorado Gives Day fuels this work. It helps us challenge outdated sentences, secure second chances, address racial disparities, and advance reforms that reduce incarceration while strengthening communities. Reducing unnecessary imprisonment saves taxpayer dollars and allows the state to invest in what truly promotes safety: education, housing, mental health care, and reentry support.

Colorado built mass incarceration over decades. With your partnership, we can build something better — a justice system grounded in dignity, balance, and humanity.

This Colorado Gives Day, help us move Colorado toward a safer and more just future.

NOTE: The Hadanou Collective is SJC’s fiscal sponsor. Don't worry: 100% of your donation will go directly to Spero Justice Center.