Terry Townsend, Petitioner v. the People of the State of Colorado, Respondent

Summary

The court affirmed Townsend's escape conviction, holding that the jury instructions adequately stated the applicable escape elements and that any instructional error was harmless or invited. It declined to reach Townsend's as-applied vagueness argument because it was not preserved and, alternatively, found no basis to conclude that the statute was unconstitutional as applied; it also held that Townsend waived his separation-of-powers and nondelegation challenge by tendering the relevant instruction. Chief Justice Bender, joined by Justice Martinez, concurred in part and dissented in part, contending that cumulative instructional, evidentiary, and prosecutorial errors required reversal.