‘Colton’s Law’ proposal held over by House committee for clarification

When an inmate in state prison has served two-thirds of their sentence, they are put on supervised release for the remaining one-third and join society outside penitentiary walls. Sometimes electronic monitoring is imposed as a release condition.

A bill that would require the Department of Corrections, when imposing electronic monitoring as a condition of the offender’s release, not to release the offender until their electronic monitoring is activated appeared ready to move forward from the House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee Tuesday before the bill’s language delayed its advancement.

Rep. Jerry Hertaus

Rep. Jerry Hertaus (R-Greenfield), the sponsor of HF969, said he intended the bill to also apply to local law enforcement agencies; however, language concerning that is currently absent. He plans to bring forth a clarifying amendment when the committee revisits the bill.

“Sometimes it takes an extra day or so, but we’re going to do it right,” said Rep. Dan Schoen (DFL-St. Paul Park).

A companion, SF1244, sponsored by Sen. David Osmek (R-Mound), awaits action by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

The bill is referred to as “Colton’s Law,” in memory of Colton Gleason who was sucker-punched in a random attack in St. Cloud on Sept. 21, 2012. He cracked his skull in three places when he fell to the ground and died of severe brain trauma.

“He should be here today, and had this [bill] been in place he would be,” John Gleason, Colton’s father, told the committee. “You never recover from this.”

Jesse Smithers, who was 17 at the time of the attack, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for delivering the fatal punch.

Smithers, whom John Gleason said was jailed for five previous assaults, was on probation at the county level and having recently been released from a county corrections facility was supposed to be placed on electronic home monitoring. However, it took five days before monitoring equipment ordered as part of his sentence was installed and made operational.

“It’s absolutely senseless how a violent criminal can be released from custody and the balance of his sentence is to be served under house arrest with a GPS monitoring bracelet, yet he’s released from custody and that bracelet isn’t put on until five days later,” John Gleason said. “Four days prior to that he murdered our son.”

“This is something we can do to help other families,” he added. “I can’t stand the thought that this would destroy another family.”