Denver District Attorney John Walsh announced that Mike Pellow has been named director of the Denver District Attorney’s Office Conviction Review Unit.
Pellow has worked in private practice in Denver since 2008, representing clients in criminal and civil cases. He has also represented indigent clients charged with felony offenses in Denver and Boulder as a contract attorney for the Office of Alternate Defense Counsel.
From 1988 to 2008, Pellow was a prosecutor in the Denver District Attorney’s Office, handling thousands of criminal prosecutions and more than 200 jury trials. During his final 10 years with the office, Pellow was a chief deputy district attorney, supervising the county court division and multiple district court courtrooms.
“We are excited to welcome Mike Pellow back to the Denver DA’s Office. His skill as an attorney and his decades of experience as a criminal defense attorney and as a prosecutor make him uniquely suited to lead the Conviction Review Unit,” Walsh said. “As prosecutors, we must be willing to take a second look at cases when credible evidence is presented that justice has not been served, and the Conviction Review Unit plays a vital role in that process. Mike brings powerful experience and perspective from each side of the criminal justice system to help inform our work.”
“It is truly an honor to have been chosen for this position by District Attorney Walsh. With the Colorado Senate’s passage this year of the Second Look legislation, it has become even more important than ever for district attorneys’ offices to have a dedicated unit like the Denver District Attorney’s Conviction Review Unit, and I look forward to continuing the unit’s great work,” Pellow said.
The Denver District Attorney’s Conviction Review Unit reviews post-conviction petitions, clemency petitions and claims of actual innocence or wrongful conviction. Since the unit was formed in 2022, it has responded to dozens of requests from the governor’s office related to clemency petitions, reviewed requests for resentencing and received 81 applications for innocence review.
According to the district attorney’s office, one of those applications resulted in a homicide conviction being vacated in April, and another resulted in a reduced sentence. Of the 81 applications received, 65 have been reviewed and closed.
The Conviction Review Unit will also take a role in reviewing cases under Colorado’s Second Look sentencing legislation.