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Today, May 15, Colorado’s governor announced clemency for 44 people — including former Mesa County clerk and Donald Trump darling Tina Peters, whose sentence was commuted. She’s now eligible for parole on June 1, when she will be released from state prison.
“The Clemency power is a serious responsibility, and not one that I take lightly. This power has the ability to change lives — help grant a second chance for someone who has made grave mistakes — and it comes with great consideration, and sometimes even controversy,” Jared Polis said in announcing his decision. “That’s why I’ve taken the time needed to carefully review and deliberate on these applications, and carefully consider input from victims and family members impacted, law enforcement, and those in the justice system who worked on these cases.”
In October 2024, Republican Peters was sentenced to nine years in prison after a Mesa County jury convicted her on four felony charges and three misdemeanors in connection with a 2021 security breach involving her own elections office. While Peters appealed that sentence, Trump took up the cause of the election denier (he’d won in 2020 in Mesa County).
First, Trump asked that she be moved to a federal prison. Then he demanded Polis pardon her altogether. Then he gave her a presidential “full pardon,” which is immaterial in a state case.
“God Bless Tina Peters,” Trump posted on Truth Social in late December, “who is now, for two years out of nine, sitting in a Colorado Maximum Security Prison, at the age of 73, and sick, for the ‘crime’ of trying to stop the massive voter fraud that goes on in her State (where people are leaving in record numbers!). Hard to wish her a Happy New Year, but to the Scumbag Governor, and the disgusting ‘Republican’ (RINO!) DA, who did this to her (nothing happens to the Dems and their phony Mail In Ballot System that makes it impossible for a Republican to win an otherwise very winnable State!), I wish them only the worst. May they rot in Hell. FREE TINA PETTERS!”
At the time, Polis said he would consider the length of Peters’ sentence, just as he considered all requests for clemency.
A half-dozen Democratic, Republican and unaffiliated Colorado county clerks appeared together last fall, pleading for Polis to keep Peters in state custody. “This is not abstract for us,” said Boulder County Clerk Molly Fitzpatrick. “We are the ones who will face the consequences of any decision that suggests her actions were not serious or that accountability can be negotiated.”
But apparently, it can be.
“I am writing to inform you that I am granting your application for a commutation,” Polis wrote Peters in explaining his decision. “After learning about your case, I am commuting your sentence by granting you a limited commutation such that your total sentence, inclusive of time in County Jail and the Department of Corrections, is commuted to 4 years and 4.5 months, and you shall be released on parole effective June 1, 2026, with terms and conditions of parole to be set by the Parole Board. My decision today is based on the circumstances of your case alone. My decision is not to be taken as a judgment on the wisdom of your convictions or a statement about any particular aspect of our criminal justice system.
“The crimes you were convicted of are very serious and you deserve to spend time in prison for these offenses. However, this is an extremely unusual and lengthy sentence for a first time offender who committed nonviolent crimes….Importantly, your application demonstrates taking responsibility for your crimes, and a commitment to follow the law going forward. For these reasons, I am commuting your sentence. This commutation will change your future. It is up to you to make the most of this opportunity. Good luck to you.”
And good luck to Polis, as the blowback quickly reached gale force, as organizations, candidates and other elected officials responded.
Said the League of Women Voters of Colorado: “Ms. Peters is not a sympathetic figure caught in a legal gray area. She is a former elected official who was unanimously convicted by a jury of her peers for crimes that struck at the very foundation of our democracy. She has expressed no remorse, and she continues to actively spread disinformation that erodes public confidence in Colorado’s electoral system. Commuting her sentence does not serve justice — it undermines it.”
“There are real cases that deserve the Governor’s attention and action,” said Colorado Democratic Party Shair Shad Murib. “This is not one of them.”
Of the 44 cases, 35 were pardons — which removes the crime from the individual’s records — and nine were commutations, like Peters’. None of the other individuals were former public officials
“We are furious, disgusted, and deeply disappointed by the Governor’s decision,” the Colorado County Clerks said in a statement after getting the news. “We have met with him privately to make our position unmistakably clear: Tina Peters deserves the accountability imposed through Colorado’s judicial system, and the Governor should, at the very least, respect that process and allow it to fully play out before intervening. This case was thoroughly investigated, prosecuted, and adjudicated through the rule of law. Undermining that process before it has fully concluded sends a reckless and dangerous message to the public, to election officials, and to anyone entrusted with safeguarding our democratic institutions. Election officials across Colorado, Republicans and Democrats alike, have stood up at every turn to tell the truth about our elections, even while facing harassment, intimidation, threats, and relentless political attacks. They have defended the rule of law, protected voters, and continued serving the public despite enormous personal and professional costs.
“Rather than standing with those public servants and defending one of our nation’s most cherished rights, the right to vote, Governor Polis is bending the knee to the same political forces and conspiracy movements that are actively undermining confidence in our democratic institutions. That choice carries consequences far beyond this single case….At a time when election officials need strong support, this decision abandons them and supports the attack on the legitimacy of American elections.
“There is no escaping the significance of this moment. This is now Governor Polis’s legacy. He will not be able to run from it or redefine it later. When given the opportunity to stand firmly for the rule of law, for the integrity of Colorado’s elections, and for the public servants who defend them, he chose a different path. This decision is shameful. It rewards criminal conduct connected to attacks on our election system, weakens confidence in accountability, and undermines the very institutions that protect the freedom to vote. Colorado voters deserve leaders who defend democracy, not leaders who legitimize efforts to damage it.”
In a Facebook post that followed the announcement, Polis doubled down on his explanation: “To be clear, I am not pardoning Tina Peters, and I have never considered a pardon. Tina Peters violated state law and broke the public trust by lying to the Secretary of State and illegally accessing a computer room in 2021 prior to a software update. Her actions were clearly illegal, wrong, and financially costly to Mesa County, and Colorado. Tina Peters will remain a convicted felon for her crimes. I am simply correcting what I see as the error the trial court made by sentencing her to nearly nine years in prison.”
Polis also said that this will not be his final round of commutations.
