As members of the Colorado Larimer County district attorney's office, Terence Gilmore and Jolene Blair played a central role in the malicious prosecution and knowingly false conviction of Timothy Masters for the 1987 murder of Peggy Hettrick. Focusing only on Mr. Masters - who was 15 years old at the time of the crime - ignoring other suspects, and withholding evidence from defense attorneys that could have exonerated the defendant, Gilmore and Blair helped to convict Mr. Masters in 1999 and get him sentenced to life in prison for a murder he did not commit. http://bit.ly/PeggyHettrickmurdercase

Gilmore and Blair were subsequently appointed as judges in district court.

In January, 2008, after nearly a decade behind bars, Masters' conviction was vacated by a Colorado judge who ordered him released immediately, based partly on new DNA evidence and discovery of the misconduct by police and prosecutors.

The Colorado Supreme Court officially censured Gilmore and Blair for "negligence" and "conduct which directly impaired the proper operation of the criminal justice system." The City of Fort Collins, Colorado and Larimer County settled suits filed by Mr. Masters out of court, paying a combined $10 million. 

In the general election of November 2, 2010, outraged local voters tossed Judges Gilmore and Blair out of office, the only judges in the entire state to lose their retention elections that year, among the few ever voted out of office in Colorado. Tim Masters was officially exonerated on June 13, 2011. Despite their censure and removal from office, Gilmore and Blair have  refused to accept responsiblity for their actions or apologize to Timothy Masters.  http://bit.ly/gilmore-blairousted

Although Timothy Masters eventually was released - losing a decade in prison he can never recover - the extreme misconduct evidenced in his case is not an isolated incident in Larimer County.

The Timothy Masters case is JUST THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG.

Terence Gilmore and Jolene Blair have been involved in many others cases as prosecutors or judges, and there is a long-established pattern of local misconduct among the police, prosecutors and courts crying out for redress.

One single mother, who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal from county officials, has had her life turned completely upside down due to Judge Gilmore's role in her case - evidence that could have exonerated her was destroyed, her parental rights to her children were taken away, and her infant son turned over to his abusive father who has an extensive criminal history of drug abuse/violence.  Over the last several years, multiple reports have been filed stating that her son was being physically abused by his father, however, Larimer County DHS returned custody to the father....who has reportedly continued to physically abuse the child.  The boy's mother is grieved and heartsick that she has been unable to stop this abuse.

We call upon Colorado Attorney General John Suthers to appoint independent investigators not linked to the Fort Collins Police Department, Larimer County District Attorney or Sheriff's office, of the 8th Judicial District, to examine other cases involving Blair and Gilmore to see if similar misconduct led to any wrongful convictions.