Tina Peters released from Colorado prison after Polis commutes sentence
Tina Peters, the former Mesa County Clerk, was released from Colorado prison on Monday after Gov. Jared Polis commuted her nine-year sentence. Polis said the original punishment was unusually lengthy and may have been based in part on improper consideration of her free-speech rights, pointing to a recent appeals court ruling that supported resentencing.
peters had been convicted in 2024 of election interference related to the 2020 election and spent 19 months incarcerated before her sentence was cut in half in May and she became eligible for parole in June.Her attorneys cited serious safety and health problems while she was in custody, and the commutation followed President Donald trump’s public request for her release. The decision drew strong criticism from many Democrats, who argued it rewarded election tampering under political pressure.
Polis also compared her case with that of former State Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis, who received probation and community service for similar charges, saying Colorado should apply justice more evenly.
Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters was released from prison in Colorado on Monday, after Gov. Jared Polis (D-CO) commuted her sentence due to concerns it violated free speech rights.
Peters was convicted in 2024 on charges of election interference in the 2020 election and sentenced to nine years in prison. Polis commuted her sentence last month, arguing it reflected the Colorado Court of Appeals’ recent ruling that Peters should be resentenced, as her original sentencing was “based in part on improper consideration of the exercise of her right to free speech.”
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In light of Polis’s action, Peters was released from La Vista Correctional Facility in Pueblo on Monday, after her case gained national attention and the personal support of President Donald Trump.
Peters spent 19 months in prison before Polis cut her prison time in half on May 15 and made her parole eligible on June 1. The move came after the president asked for her release, and Peters’s attorneys said she was experiencing serious safety and health issues in prison. The commutation sparked outrage from many Democrats, including state colleagues, who censured him over concerns the commutation “materially harmed the Colorado Democratic Party’s institutional credibility and efforts to defend democratic institutions and election integrity.”
“Reducing her sentence now, under pressure from Donald Trump, is not justice,” the Colorado Democratic Party said last month. “It sends a message to future bad actors that election tampering has consequences, unless you’re friends with the president. That’s a dangerous and disappointing precedent to set.”
Polis says he believes Peters committed a crime after she was convicted of four felonies and three misdemeanor charges related to a breach of voting systems in the county. But the governor has raised concerns that her sentencing was “extremely unusual and lengthy” for a first-time non-violent offender, comparing her punishment to that of another official convicted, in a case he suggested exposed a serious double standard.
“Last week, former State Senator Sonya Jaquez Lewis was sentenced to probation and community service after being convicted of four felonies, including Attempt to Influence a Public Official,” Polis wrote in a post to X.
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“As someone who has known Sonya as a friend for many years, on a personal level I was glad to hear she isn’t going to prison which is a hard place for anyone,” the governor continued. “But it is not lost on me that she was convicted of the exact same felony charge as Tina Peters — attempting to influence a public official — and yet Tina Peters, as a non-violent first time offender got a nine year sentence. Justice in Colorado and America needs to be applied evenly, you never know when you might need to depend on the rule of law.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to The La Vista Correctional Facility for comment on more details on Peters’ release.
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