Imagine a lock that clicks shut for the last time. Not because a person is irredeemable, but because a system has decided their life no longer has a place in society. That lock is Death by Incarceration (DBI), more widely known as the sentence of Life without Parole (LWOP), and it is quietly devastating families, communities, and hope across Colorado.

My name is Rhidale Dotson. More than 25 years ago a judge’s gavel banged, the lock clicked shut, and I was locked away. At 22, I made choices that led to tragic consequences. I did not pull a trigger, but I was charged under Colorado’s Felony Murder law and inevitably ended up condemned to death by incarceration (an LWOP sentence that no longer reflects current state policy).

Today, more than 9,500 days later, I am not asking for the Governor to forget or forgive what I have done, or to erase my past, but I am asking for a chance at redemption.

This petition is not just about my story. It is about justice.

Over the course of 9,500+ days, I have done everything I can to change:

  • Mentored hundreds of peers

  • Built programs that worked to reduce violence while promoting healing and accountability

  • Co-founded a nonprofit from behind prison walls

  • Earned certificates in mental health first aid, leadership, and personal development

  • Currently maintain a 4.0 GPA while pursuing a college degree

I have worked to become the kind of person Colorado says it wants to see: accountable, transformed, and committed to serving others. Still, my sentence remains the same — a sentence of death, just carried out slowly behind concrete walls.

FREE

RHIDALE DOTSON