Re: “Colorado parole chief Tim Hand placed on paid temporary leave,” May 24 news story.
How disheartening it was to read that Tim Hand, the Department of Corrections’ director of adult parole, has been placed on a leave of absence. It is truly sad to see a man who has dedicated his life to corrections with humanity and grace become a scapegoat for a seriously flawed statewide approach to mental health.
Since the death of Tom Clements, there has been a lot of finger pointing — at the courts, at DOC interpretations of sentences, at sentencing guidelines, at how parolees are monitored. I met Clements and truly believe he would be frustrated by all of this. I believe he would tell us all that the case of Evan Ebel is a prime example of the failure of administrative segregation. I believe he would be outraged that instead of focusing on Colorado’s lack of ability to address the needs of mentally ill prisoners, his own department has chosen to sacrifice one of his own top officials.
Buffy Fletcher, Aurora
This letter was published in the May 30 edition.
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