For more than a year, Denver7 Investigates has reported a 2024 change in Colorados competency law and the impacts it is having on the states legal system.Prior to the change, the law stated that a judge may dismiss cases against defendants who have been found incompetent and not restorable. The new law changed the word may to shall, eliminating any wiggle room judges may have had in the past.That small change started having an immediate impact, Denver7 Investigates learned after we were contacted by Dr. Scott Green in late 2024. Green was concerned that charges against a man who stabbed him in 2024 would be dismissed due to this new law because the suspect, Ross McPherson, was repeatedly found unfit to stand trial and not restorable.Even more concerning to Green was the possibility that McPherson would be released back into the public since he would no longer be eligible for mental health services he was receiving while in jail.The charges against McPherson were dropped, and a bed opened up for McPherson at the states mental health hospital after Denver7 Investigates started asking questions. Charges dropped against man accused of trying to murder Lakewood doctor following Colorado statute changeHowever, other cases soon came to light with different outcomes.In the case of Joseph and Billie Jo Bowman, the siblings lost their mother 10 months after a crash that left all three of them with serious injuries when their car was hit by Guillermo Ramirez, who was driving more than 100 miles an hour and was under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Ramirezs passenger, Brisia Leon, died at the scene. Why a drunk driver, accused of killing 2 people in Jeffco, might walk freeThe Bowmans mother, Nelie, lost her leg and suffered serious injuries. She died the following October due to complications from those injuries.However, Ramirezs case was dismissed earlier this year after he was repeatedly found incompetent due to a brain injury suffered in the crash. Ramirez walked out of court the day his charges were dropped. JeffCo judge drops charges against man accused of killing two women in 2021 drunk driving crashMore cases would follow, and the spotlight on the states law would get brighter.Critics of the bill said there was no funding attached to boost mental health services in the state and ensure that dangerous people arent released without treatment.One of the bills main sponsors, State Sen. Judy Amabile, D-Boulder, said that it would have been preferable to have funding, but they also wanted the bill to pass.Later in the year, as calls for reform grew louder, multiple district attorneys and Gov. Jared Polis weighed in on the law, saying it needed to be looked at next session.This 30-minute special will highlight all of Denver7 Investigates coverage on the complexities during the past year. Denver7 Investigates: The Complexity of Competency ...read more read less