Why Defense Attorneys Hire Me as an Expert Witness

When a defense attorney calls me to testify as an expert witness, they are usually trying to help a jury or a judge understand something that cannot be found in a law book: what life inside a Colorado prison actually looks like.

I spent more than 30 years incarcerated in Colorado's correctional system. I lived through administrative segregation, gang yards, institutional violence, and the slow grind of a sentence that was designed to never end. I also earned multiple degrees during that time, including an MBA, and became the first incarcerated person in the United States to be hired as a university professor. Governor Jared Polis granted me clemency in 2023.

As an expert witness, I provide testimony on topics including: the culture and power dynamics of prison gangs, what it means practically to serve a sentence of life without parole, the psychological effects of long-term incarceration, the difference between how sentences are described legally and how they are experienced by the person serving them, and the factors that influence behavior inside correctional facilities.

This is testimony that no criminology textbook can replicate, because it comes from someone who was there. If you are a defense attorney, civil rights litigator, or public defender in Colorado and believe my perspective could strengthen your case, I welcome your inquiry. Reach me at david.carrillo@drcarrilloconsultingllc.com or 720-483-4211. I am also available for cases outside Colorado.