AURORA, Colo. — Parents, prosecutors, and defense attorneys are frustrated with Colorado's judicial system after the case against a suspect accused of trying to kidnap an elementary student was dismissed.
Solomon Galligan, who, according to court records, is a transgender woman also known as "Carmen," was arrested more than a year ago.
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Surveillance video from April 19, 2024, shows the suspect walking onto the field of Black Forest Hills Elementary School in the Cherry Creek School District, then appearing to lunge at a child during recess.
Court records reveal Galligan's extensive criminal history and troubling past when dealing with mental health issues. According to the motion to dismiss the case, filed on July 17 by the defense, Galligan has "undergone at least twenty-three competency evaluations over the past eighteen plus years."
The document states Galligan was arrested in 2007 on the defendant's first juvenile case, and since then, "in every criminal case that Ms. Galligan has been charged with, her competency has been an issue."
In this case, Galligan was found mentally unfit to stand trial and not likely to be restored to competency.
Denver7 Investigates has
extensively covered a law that changed in Colorado last summer, requiring judges to dismiss cases in which defendants are found incompetent and not restorable.
In a courtroom at the Arapahoe County Justice Center on Thursday, two parents of children who were on the field during the incident spoke directly to Judge Laqunya Baker before the case was closed. Dante White said his concern is that mental health will become an excuse for criminal defendants.
"We can't go back and change the past, but what we can do is help dictate what the future is going to look like," White said when asked why he chose to speak at the hearing.
The other mother, whose son was nearly abducted, called the case a "profound failing of our legal system."
18th Judicial Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley acknowledged that the courtroom was full for a type of hearing that is typically emptier.
"This is a case where the victims expressed great fear at what happened to their children, and then outrage and concern about the state of the law," Brackley told Denver7 Investigates after the hearing was over.
The defense attorney on the case, Becca Butler-Dines, also addressed the court, formally asking the judge to dismiss the case.
“There is a broken system," said Butler-Dines, who attributed Galligan's severe mental health problems to a lack of treatment earlier on in life.
According to Butler-Dines, when receiving the proper treatment, Galligan is a kind person who likes music, cookies, burritos, and animals. The deputy state public defender explained that in previous criminal cases, Galligan had been "too sick" to stand trial, but "not sick enough" to be committed to a state mental health facility through a civil process.
Right now, Galligan remains in the state's mental health hospital in Fort Logan through a short-term civil commitment.
“I don't have access to what is going to happen from this point forward, and that's one of the problems with the current statute," Brackley said. "Once a case is dismissed, we in the criminal justice system lose the ability to monitor. We lose the ability to be heard."
Brackley admitted there is no guarantee that Galligan will not eventually be released into the community. He said that after a criminal case is dismissed, victims will no longer be notified if a defendant is discharged from treatment.
Butler-Dines hopes that if Galligan ever qualifies for release from the state hospital, they will then be admitted into a long-term care facility to receive ongoing treatment.
Victims of Galligan's alleged crimes and 18th Judicial District Attorney Amy Padden say they are pushing legislators to take a second look at Colorado's current competency law. White said he has already been in touch with local lawmakers about the issue.
"I think everybody's going to kind of take a look at this and say, 'That could have been my kid. That could have been my brother and my sister, or my child.' Whatever, right? And that's where effective change happens," White said.
