The judge made no decision Wednesday, saying he would issue a written ruling at a later date. The Colorado Court of Appeals threw out Carrier’s appeal in June 2018, and the state Supreme Court turned down his request for review in September 2019, leaving him a narrowing window to reverse a punishment that could keep him behind bars for life — what relatives of his victims call a fitting consequence for his crimes. Parents who attended the hearing in person recounted how he leveraged his authority as a police officer to get away with the assaults, using goodwill and gifts to further earn victims’ trust.