Denver District Attorney Beth McCann
Abe and his attorney discovered in November of 2022 after an open records request that Abe was never indicted. There is no true bill indictment from the Grand Jury. Soon after this discovery, Abe's attorney immediately filed a motion with the Colorado Court of Appeals to hear the issue, in which they refused. She then appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court, whom also refused. Click here to read the motions and briefs. The Denver District Attorney, Beth McCann, has also been informed of this and did not respond to Abe's attorney. Also informed was Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser.
This woman, twice elected Denver District Attorney, ran her platform on change and equality. After two elections, her promises to people of color have rang hollow. After 24 years, Abe's legal team have repeatedly attempted to reach a plea agreement with her by providing her clear evidence of racism, conscious and unconscious bias, white priviledge, disparity of sentencing, and mitigation evidence to no avail.
Denver District Attorney's Office
RACIAL MAKEUP
- 1 Undisclosed race >1%
- 3 Asian >3%
- 3 Mixed Race >3%
- 4 African Americans 3.6%
- 7 Hispanic/Latino 6.4%
91 White 83.4%
This man Robert Russell wrote the opinion denying Abe's appeal of his 35(c) postconviction motion from this man 
ex-chief Deputy Denver District Attorney turned judge William Robbins.
The other death penalty case the Denver DA’s office filed after Abe’s was in in 2012, People v. Lewis, 12CR4743. Again, it was against a black defendant, and Joe Morales prosecuted the case. Even though there has been hundreds of cases that were death penalty eligible between Abe’s case 1998 and Mr. Lewis’, the Denver DA’s office chose only these two black defendants to file the death penalty against.
This is a transcript from Abe's trial and his attorney, Forest Lewis, questioning Matt Conner regarding his plea agreement with special clauses within it in exchange for testifying against Abe.
Mr. Lewis: You knew that the penalty for First Degree Murder -- one of the possible penalties was death by lethal injection, didn't you?
Matt Conner: Yes.
Mr. Lewis: And if not that, life without any ever possibility of parole?
Matt Conner: Yes.
Mr. Lewis: But you and your attorney worked out an agreement with the District Attorney's office, didn't you?
Matt Conner: Yes.
Mr. Lewis: And under that agreement, you were required to testify against Abe Hagos, weren't you?
Matt Conner: Yes.
Mr. Lewis: And you would be allowed to plead to Attempted First Degree Murder; correct?
Matt Conner: Yes.
Mr. Lewis: Now, the possible penalty for Attempted First Degree Murder is up to 48 years; isn't it?
Matt Conner: Yes.
Mr. Lewis: But you worked out an agreement with the district attorney for half that much; correct?
Matt Conner: Yes.
Mr. Lewis: And you entered that plea in January of last year; right?
Matt Conner: Yes.
Mr. Lewis: A year and 4 months ago. You haven't been sentenced yet, have you?
Matt Conner: No.
Mr. Lewis: They told you, you are not going to get sentenced until after you testify in this case, didn't they?
Matt Conner: Basically, yes.
Mr. Lewis: Now, the same district attorney's that are handling Abe's case are handling your case; right?
Matt Conner: Yes.
Mr. Lewis: These are the people that are going to be present at your sentencing?
Matt Conner: Yes.
Mr. Lewis: Whatever happens. And, in fact, one of the issues would be to calculate good time, earned time credit so you can try to get some credit off that 24?
Matt Conner: Yes.
Mr. Lewis: They are the people that will have some input into doing that, aren't they?
Matt Conner: Yes.
Mr. Lewis: So you went from the possibility of death, to 24 years; right?
Matt Conner: Yes.
Mr. Lewis: You think it should be less, don't you?
Matt Conner: I would like it to be less.
Mr. Lewis: You've done all you can do to get it as low as you can; right?
Matt Conner: Yes.
Mr. Lewis: Nothing further.
Then on redirect, Joe Morales said the following,
Mr. Morales: Counsel asked you some questions about how the DA's office was going to help you calculate your good time and your earned time. Do you recall those questions?
Matt Conner: Yes.
Mr. Morales: Do you know who calculate you good time and your earned time?
Matt Conner: No.
Mr. Morales: You have been in custody since July 20th of 1999?
Matt Conner: Yes.
Mr. Morales: And as a result of not being sentenced to the Department of Corrections, do you believe you're losing credit?
Matt Conner: It's a possibility, yes.
Mr. Morales: Do you know how?
Matt Conner: As far as I'm aware, you don't get good time sitting in the county jail when you are not sentenced to the county jail.
Mr. Morales: You only get the good time when you are sitting in DOC?
Matt Conner: Right
Mr. Morales: Do you know who calculates good time? Is it the District Attorney's Office or The Department of Corrections?
Matt Conner: Is it DOC.
Mr. Morales: We have no role in what you get as a result of that; is that right?
Matt Conner: No.
Mr. Morales: As far as your understanding?
Matt Conner: Yes, as far as I know.
Click here to see the original transcript
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This is what happened after Abe’s conviction four months later in front of the corrupt Judge Morris B. Hoffman, who illegally oversaw Abe’s Grand Jury and then the very same case (kidnapping case) they allegedly indicted Abe on with no True Bill. Click here to view Judge Hoffman’s misconduct (show Matt Connors sentencing transcript)
As you will have noticed, Ms. Holton was very, very crafty in this matter. She knew the law and knew the Colorado Revised Statues (C.R.S.) don’t allow for a defendant to receive earned time and good time while in the county jail, as did the corrupt Judge Hoffman. But, by Ms. Holton requesting to have it disguised as presentence confinement and Judge Hoffman agreeing to it it was secured Matt Connor would have over 7 years deducted from his 24 year sentence. Additionally, the Colorado Department of Corrections was now required by law to give Matt Connor all these additional credits that he wasn’t entitled too.
Chief Deputy DA Joe Morales committed prosecutorial misconduct at trial by stating that the Denver DA’s office had nothing to do with earned time/good time credits and it was the Department of Corrections that did when his office entered into the agreement the year before. The prosecutor at the sentencing hearing clearly debunked that lie. In all, Matt Connor, the only white defendant in the case was shown white privilege by an office who’s history has shown preferential treatment to people that look like them with the assistance of corrupt judges.
Here is a perfect example of how Beth McCann operates. Compare and contrast Abe's circumstances to Mr. Hogans & others.
Mr. Hogan was charged and convicted of the following:
- 3 counts of Second-Degree Kidnapping
- 1 count of Aggrivated Robbery
- 2 counts of Crime of Violence sentence enhancer
Over two decades later Mr. Hogan petitioned Beth McCann to review his case
Beth McCann agreed to review his case
(She gave him immediate release)
Abe was charged with the following, but acquitted of some of the charges
- First-Degree Kidnapping: guilty
(Judge gave an incorrect jury instruction that does not exist as law) - First-Degree Burlary: guily
- Aggravated Robbery: not guilty
- Second-Degree Assault: not guilty
- Conspiracy to commit First-Degree Kidnapping: not guilty
Over two decades later Abe petitioned Beth McCann to review his case
Beth McCann refused to review his case
In Abe's circumstance one of the reasons why Beth McCann refuses was because the appellate courts did not reverse his case
This is her actual quote to Abe's attorney, "Mr. Hagos conviction for First-Degree Kidnapping was appropriate, and has been affirmed by both The Court of Appeals and The Supreme Court -- twice."
The hypocrisy in Beth McCann is that while she states one of the reasons she refuses to plead Abe's case is that the courts have upheld his convictions but they did the same thing in Mr. Hogan's case twice. She chose to override the Colorado Court of Appeals and Colorado Supreme Court decision for Mr. Hogan. Additionally, the victim in Abe's case was a childhood friend of Abes. In 2002, and as of recent, Billy Leopp has tried to speak with Beth McCann regarding how he feels Abe should have never been charged and has no objection to his release. Billy Leopp testified to the following at trial:
Beth McCann has continued to ignore Colorado's victim rights act by refusing to speak with Billy Leopp. Under these rights, Billy is a victim and is not being heard.
The question is, what is the difference between Abe and Mr. Hogan?
The Denver District Attorney's Office racial makeup has always been over 80% white. Their history of who & how they prosecute different races has been demonstrated from the Colorado University Law Journal and other reporting. Beth McCann has continued this tradition by giving people that look like her and her staff a second chance regardless if their crime like Lisl Auman included the slaying of a Denver Police Officer or Jeremiah Barnum's case which included the slaying of an African immigrant working at the bus stop as well as the paralization of a good samaritan.
NEWS > CRIME AND PUBLIC SAFETY
DENER DA DEBUTS NEW UNIT TO REVIEW CASES FOR WRONGFUL CONVICTIONS AND DISPROPORTIONATE SENTENCES
CITY'S NEW CONVICTION REVIEW UNIT IS FOURTH SUCH OFFICE IN THE STATE
Denver District Attorney Beth McCann had wanted to establish a conviction review unit since she was elected but did not get the budget approved until last year, when the City Council authorized $227,900 for the two new positions.
"There is so much mistrust of the justice system right now... it's important for prosecutors to do what we can to assure the public that we're treating people fairly, equitably and justly," McCann said. "This is just one piece of that"
McCann is the fourth Colorado prosecutor to launch such a unit, which are becoming more common across the country. Without such processes it is difficult -- and sometimes expensive -- for people to appeal their convictions and sentences through the courts.
McCann receives letters often from people who believe their sentence is disproportionate to their crime, but her office has rarely acted on them.
She hopes Cisnernos will be able to look at more sentences like the one given to Marion Jetton, who was sentenced to 96 years in prison under Colorado's habitual criminal laws for stealing about $8,000 while leading a theft and forgery ring. McCann in 2017 helped get his sentence reduced to 24 years.
"Ninety-six years -- I mean he was going to die in prison for an $8,000 forgery," McCann said. "It seemed excessive."
Jetton now works as a truck driver in California, McCann said. He sends her a Christmas card every year.
http://www.DenverPost.com/2022/06/08/denver-conviction-review/unit
NEWS > COURTS
Black, Hispanic people more likely to be held in jail before conviction, according to Colorado DA data
Public dashboards show racial disparities, offer unprecedented detail
King said she hope the data will help inform the district attorney's office of where racial disparities exist within the court process so that the prosecutors can work to remedy them.
"It really came down to me wanting to have a better understanding of what was happening, and really what was happening here," she said. "Not Denver, not Colorado Springs, but here in Jefferson County."
The researchers in King's district found that Black and Hispanic people convicted of crimes were more likely than white people to be held in jail before they were convicted -- a trend that also is seen, to varying degrees, in five other judicial districts.
In 2021, about 31% of white defendants who were ultimately convicted of a crime were held in pretrial detention in Jefferson and Gilpin counties, while 43% of Black defendants and 36% of Hispanic defendants were detained, the data shows.
The researchers have not yet explored the reasons for the disparities, but the team hopes to perform a more detailed analysis in the future to pinpoint the causes of identified trends, which could include an analysis of defendants' criminal history and how that impacts pretrial detention rates.
In an interview last week, King acknowledged that her office "has some work to do with implicit bias and bond." She also noted that researchers found Hispanic defendants were frequently misidentified as white in the collected data, which means Hispanic defendants were likely under counted and underrepresented in the data.
"When it comes to implicit bias and bond, these are often decisions that are being made really quickly, and I think that with long-term outcomes (in cases) we don't see as much disparity, but in that quick decision-making we have some implicit bias we need to address," she said, adding that although judges set bond, they often listen to prosecutors' suggestions.
"I don't shirk responsibility," she said. "We have a lot of power in that moment."
Melba Pearson, left, Prosecutorial Performance Indicators project, talks with Denver DA Beth McCann before a press conference announcing publicly-available data dashboards at the History Colorado Center Sept. 08, 2022. (Photo by Andy Cross @ The Denver Post)
As was read from Beth McCann quotes above, she, along with all her prosecutors have took an oath to uphold The Constitution. Abe is serving a life without the possibility of parole sentence for a case where he wasn't indicted. This is an illegal seizure. The court has never had jurisdiction to try him. There is no true bill in this case which is a must & mandatory before any defendant is brought before a court.
Beth McCann said she started The Conviction Review Unit to bring transparency and fairness to her office. Therefore, why has she refused to respond to Abe's attorney? McCann gave Jason Hogan immediate release because there was mishandling of evidence by the Denver Police. Abe's claim is beyond egregious because the grand jury never found probable cause which indicates criminal proceedings. He, along with three different attorneys have been litigating a case that was never legal to begin with. The Denver District Attorney's Office knew there was no indictment in this case, but pretended as if there was. Now, that the open records request from both The Denver District Attorney's office & Denver District Court adhere to The Constitution to vacate Abe's unlawful conviction.