Colorado moves to give child victims, witnesses of crimes anonymity in public records

Published by Colorado Politics on May 5, 2023.

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Nearly one year ago, 17-year-old Riley Whitelaw was killed in the break room of the Colorado Springs Walgreens where she worked. The horrific details of the crime, allegedly committed by an adult co-worker who Riley had previously complained against, quickly consumed state and national news. 

In a matter of days, many of Riley’s relatives, friends and classmates heard about her death from the news — before Riley’s family had the chance to reach out themselves. 

“My family and I had no time to grieve in private,” said Courtenay Whitelaw, Riley’s mother, while testifying to the state legislature. “The children didn’t deserve to find out such horrors from news or social media. ... Riley preferred to stay out of the limelight. Yet, here we are after her death. Overexposed in headline news, not for the human she is, but for the crime against her.” 

On Friday, Colorado lawmakers unanimously passed Senate Bill 75 in an attempt to prevent this situation from happening again. 

If signed into law, the bill would remove identifying information of victims and witnesses who are minors from criminal justice records released to the public, replacing names with “child victim” or “child witness.” This would make it so that children and teenagers who are victims or witnesses of crimes cannot be identified by public records.

Lawmakers named the bill "Riley's Law" during the final vote on Friday. 

"This bill is about a mom who is fighting for her daughter and her friends," said bill sponsor Rep. Brianna Titone, D-Arvada, through tears during the vote. "We thought it would be fitting that, she's worked so hard for this bill, that we name it after her daughter." 

During a public hearing on the bill, Riley’s family, friends and classmates from Air Academy High School said they cannot escape the gruesome details of her death even months later, still coming across articles and true crime TikToks rehashing descriptions of what happened.

The friends also spoke of their high school classmate, who was identified as a witness to Riley's murder in public records, saying she is frequently shamed by their peers for not “doing something” to save Riley.

“I’m trying to protect the safety, welfare and emotional and mental health of minors,” said bill sponsor Sen. Tony Exum, D-Colorado Springs. “Putting children’s privacy at risk is unacceptable. ... Tell your story, but redact the names.”

Under current law, the names of victims who are minors are only redacted in public records in the cases of certain sexual crimes. However, when minors commit crimes, their identities are not released in public records unless they are charged as adults.

“Perpetrators are protected more than victims,” Exum said. “That’s not right. That’s not fair.”

In addition to protecting mental health, proponents of the bill argued it would protect minors’ physical health, saying releasing the names of minors who witnessed crimes can put them in danger of retaliation.

In November 2021, a mass shooting occurred at Hinkley High School in Aurora. Mayor Mike Coffman said the names and addresses of teenage witnesses to the shooting were inadvertently released in an arrest affidavit published in the local newspaper. Coffman said this led to the witnesses being bullied at school and one being placed in protective custody after his house was shot up. 

The bill’s other sponsor Sen. Rhonda Fields, D-Aurora, has been personally affected by this kind of witness retaliation. In 2005, Fields' son, Javad Marshall-Fields, and his fiancée, Vivian Wolfe, were murdered in Aurora the day after Marshall-Fields was threatened for being a witness in an upcoming murder trial. 

“I’m seeking justice on behalf of kids that are involved in being a witness,” Fields said during the bill's committee hearing. “It puts them at risk. ... We are responsible for protecting kids.”

The bill includes a good cause exception, meaning someone could petition the court to release the identity of minor victims or witnesses if there is public interest in accessing their identity. The petitioner would have to prove that the good to the public from releasing the identity would outweigh potential harm to the privacy of the minor and their family. 

The House passed the bill in a 63-0 vote on Friday, following the Senate's 34-0 passage last month. 

The bill will next be sent back to the Senate to approve the name change to "Riley's Law." Then, it will go to Gov. Jared Polis for final consideration. 

If signed by the governor, the bill would take effect in 2024. The bill would only redact minors’ names and identifying information from records going forward, not retroactively applying to past criminal justice records. It would not apply to records for traffic violations.