Episode 2: Race and Criminal Justice – Sr. Judge Regina Walter (Part 2)
“People of color represent only 13.9% of the total population in the United States, but blacks represent 42% of the individuals on death row. Of the 2,631 exonerations, since DNA evidence became admissible in the courts in 1989, 50% of those exonerations are black individuals.”
About our Guest
Judge Walter has served on the State of Colorado Judiciary for 32 years. She retired in 2019 and is currently serving as a Senior Judge for the State. Judge Walter began her judicial career in 1987 as a juvenile magistrate in the Fourth Judicial District of Colorado and served as a county court judge from 2008 until her retirement. Prior to joining the bench, she was a deputy public defender.
Judge Walter is also the founder and chair of Educating Children of Color, Inc. and the Minority Overrepresentation Committee of the 4th Judicial District Best Practices Court where she works tirelessly to bring communities together to eliminate unequal outcomes for children of color and children in poverty through educational programs. In January 2008, she initiated the first Educating Children of Color Summit and has served as chair and organized 14 successful summits. To date, her organization has raised over $230,000 in scholarship money that has been awarded to college-bound juniors and seniors at the Summit.
Judge Walter is a graduate of Colorado College and the University of Tulsa School of Law. She has won numerous awards including the Pikes Peak Community College Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award and the NAACP Freedom Fund Award for Public Service.
