Senator Cleave Simpson is Colorado's Senate Minority Leader. In this episode of UNLOCKING CHANGE, Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ) hosts Herbert Alexander and Ryan Conarro sit down with Senator Simpson to talk about everything from water rights and climate change in Colorado, to his journey from his boyhood farming in Alamosa to state office, to questions of criminal justice reform and mitigating extreme sentencing in Colorado. It's all a question, says Simpson, of leaning into the nuances.

UNLOCKING CHANGE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org

COLORADO RADIO FOR JUSTICE
https://www.radioforjustice.org/
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00:00 Unlocking Change Introduction
01:49 Meet Cleave Simpson
02:48 Running for Senate District 6 Office
04:11 The Role of Senate Minority Leader
05:44 The Infuence of Compassion
07:16 Every Senator Represents Their Constituency
07:43 "Raising the Floor": A Moment of Unalignment with the Party
11:03 Perspectives on Extreme Sentencing
12:14 Root Causes & Crime Rates: Auto Theft, Bank Robberies, & More
17:13 The Aguilera-Mederos Case: CO Governor Reduces a 110-Year Sentence
20:45 Simpson's Experience with Criminal Justice Policy
23:06 Snapshot of this Colorado Legislative Session
25:06 CDOC's Requested Budget Increase
26:07 Workforce and Housing in Rural Colorado
26:41 Climate Change and Water Issues
27:15 Additional Prospective Bills
27:39 "A Knot to Untie"

As the 2026 Legislative Session of the Colorado General Assembly kicks off, UNLOCKING CHANGE brings a conversation with Javier Mabrey (D), State Representative for House District 1 as well as Chair of the House Judiciary Committee. Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ) host Herbert Alexander invites Mabrey to share his journey from childhood poverty into legal practice and state politics, and his perspectives and hopes for reforming long sentencing, cash bail, and the larger economic systems that sustain inequality in the U.S.

UNLOCKING CHANGE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org

COLORADO RADIO FOR JUSTICE
https://www.radioforjustice.org/
Instagram // radio4justice
Facebook // radioforjustice
LinkedIn // radioforjustice
Bluesky // https://bsky.app/profile/radioforjustice.bsky.social
X (formerly Twitter) // https://x.com/home

00:00 Unlocking Change Introduction
01:53 Introduction To Javier Mabrey
02:47 The Legal System Works as Well as Intended
03:28 US Prison Population and Criminalizing Poverty
05:01 Pretrial Sentencing
05:49 Personal View of Poverty in Our Systems
06:53 The Path to Reforming The Criminal Legal System
08:56 More Likely to Recidivate
09:35 The Habitual Law and Its Effects
10:29 White Collar Crime Disparity
12:15 Who Belongs in Prison?
13:35 Vote for Community Safety
15:01 How Is Incarceration Discussed in The Government?
16:03 Having Hope for Incarcerated Individuals
17:38 The Ebb and Flow of Progress
18:40 What Does the Upcoming Legislative Session Hold?
22:45 What Does Utopia Look Like (Where will The Billionaires Be?)

It's Part 2 of a two-part conversation with Emma Mclean-Riggs, Senior Staff Attorney from the ACLU of Colorado, who sits down with Colorado Radio for Justice hosts Tiffany McCoy and Trevor Jones. Emma examines the criminalization of poverty and homelessness in Colorado communities; the ACLU's work of not just improving incarcerated people's lives inside facilities, but striving to liberate them; and an exploration of what exactly "civil liberties" themselves are. Emma highlights the value of media led by lived-experience producers, and she articulates her vision for a more just future that relies on each and every one of us.

UNLOCKING CHANGE is a podcast by Colorado Radio for Justice (CRJ). www.radioforjustice.org

00:00 Introduction - Camping bans / blanket bans in Boulder
09:14 What motivates Emma?
09:14 Emma's life journey into law
15:08 Colorado incarceration liberatory work
17:11 What are 'civil liberties'?
18:25 ACLU's history, values, intersectionality
20:58 Support ACLU / Get involved
23:21 Vision for future?