By C1 Staff
DENVER, Colo. — A second judge has decided that the Colorado state “Make My Day” law applies to inmates in prison cells.
NBC News reports that prosecutors had charged Aaron Bernal with murder in the 2011 death of inmate Cleveland Flood inside the Sterling Correctional Facility.
Last month, a judge quietly dismissed the charges against Bernal; late last year, a separate judge reached the same conclusion in the case against Bernal’s co-defendant, Antero Alaniz.
Flood sustained 90 stab wounds shortly after he entered Bernal and Alaniz’s unlocked cell on February 3, 2011.
Defense in both cases argued that the state’s “Make My Day” law applied because both were inside what the law considers a “domicile” and both felt threatened by Flood.
Prosecutors worry that the accepted application of such a law could have serious consequences should an inmate kill a correctional officer inside a prison cell.
District Attorney Brittany Lewton said that her office will now file murder charges against another two inmates accused of murdering a third in August of last year. The case bears a striking resemblance to the Bernal-Alaniz case: the third inmate, Cody Gray, entered the cell of the other two shortly before being repeatedly stabbed to death.
Lewton said she will continue to appeal both Bernal and Alaniz’s cases but said it might take legislative action to fix the issue.