Tim Masters, left, answers questions from an audience at the University of Colorado law school in October 2011. (Cliff Grassmick, Daily Camera)
When I was 15 years old, a woman named Peggy Hettrick was brutally murdered and mutilated. Years later, I was sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder. I served 10 years of my sentence before I was proven innocent by DNA, and fully exonerated three years later. I am living proof that our criminal justice system makes terrible mistakes. I add my voice to the chorus calling upon the Colorado General Assembly to pass legislation ending the death penalty. It’s the only way we can ensure no innocent man like me is ever executed in Colorado.