Sen. Pete Lee fights for sensible criminal justice policy, championing bipartisan legislation for restorative justice, victims, privacy, mental and behavioral health, and systemic change. He is now indicted by the very system he has spent decades trying to reform, and one need look no further than the political smears to see this prosecution is about laying false blame during an election year.

Instead of sensationalism, we should focus on evidence-based solutions to address the underlying economic drivers of crime. Decades of police, prosecution, and prisons waging a war on crime hasn’t worked, so why double down on more of the same?

The answer is simple and political: to scare the public into voting for “tough on crime” instead of smart on crime, effective measures like the ones Lee has tried to implement.

Sen. Lee stands up for the least among us, and the least we can do is judge his career as a dedicated public servant with a discerning eye, rather than accepting politically motivated fearmongering without questioning who benefits from it.

Tristan Gorman

Denver