COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Murdered Department of Corrections director Tom Clements was remembered Monday as a tireless optimist who believed that no one was beyond saving.
“He lived his life believing in redemption and the ability of the human heart to be changed,” his wife, Lisa Clements said during a memorial at the New Life Church in Colorado Springs. “He’d want justice, certainly, but moreover, he’d want forgiveness and mercy (for others).”
Clements, who was shot to death Tuesday when he opened the front door of his Monument house to a stranger, was generally characterized as a reformer within the Colorado prison system who worked closely with his charges and tried to help troubled people at every opportunity. He was especially concerned with rehabilitating mentally ill inmates and reducing the use of solitary confinement.
“He had two qualities I think are lacking all too often in life,” Gov. John Hickenlooper said of his friend. “He had common sense and he had courage. He was, without question, one of the most remarkable people I’ve ever known in my life.”
The investigation into Clements death is ongoing. So far police are focusing on Evan Ebel, a paroled white supremacist who is also suspected in the death of pizza delivery driver Nathan Leon.