Lawyers support Denver's decision to drop Long's murder charge

DENVER – More than a year after Stephan Long shot brothers Damon and Blake Lucas on I-25, he woke up a free man Thursday.

On Wednesday evening, Denver District Attorney Beth McCann announced that she would ask the court to dismiss the final charge of first-degree murder against Long.

“This is the justice that Stephan should have received from the beginning,” said Alexander Landau, co-director of the Denver Justice Project.

Landau used the Denver Justice Project to organize calls for action, write letters to McCann and advocate for Long's release. He said he began advocating for justice for Long the same month he was charged with murder.

“We began to see that not only were there significant abuses in Stephan's case, but that the prosecutor had completely abused his power,” Landau said. “It highlighted a larger problem of the power dynamics and the influence that a prosecutor has in any one case, but in some cases in an entire categorization of people.”

Two months after the shooting, McCann dropped one of the murder charges. Landau said this final charge had been withheld against Long for too long.

“We saw the strong arm of a system that was used to destroy him and that was used against him,” Landau said.

Although he felt the action was long overdue, he acknowledged how important the dismissal of the charges was for the Long family and beyond.

“Yesterday was a monumental victory, not only for Stephan and his family, but for the wider community that has stood behind him all along. [and] for other people in similar situations,” Landau said. “This is the kind of dismissal that could serve as a precedent for other people facing an unfair trial in the criminal justice system.”

Landau said he looks forward to working with Long to continue to address failings in the criminal justice system.

“We want to make sure our door is as open as possible, not only to him and his family, but to other families who may need a similar level of support,” Landau said.