DENVER |Officials in Colorado on Wednesday decried the prospect of clemency for imprisoned former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters after Gov. Jared Polis suggested there was an unfair disparity between her sentence and that of a former state senator who was recently sentenced to probation.
Polis, a Democrat, noted in a post on X Tuesday that former state Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis was sentenced to probation for attempting to influence a public servant. Jaquez Lewis, also a Democrat, was convicted for fabricating letters of support amid an ethics investigation into her treatment of her staff.
Peters is serving a nine-year sentence in state prison for her role in a breach of her office’s election system. A Mesa County jury convicted Peters on multiple felony counts, including three counts of attempting to influence a public servant. During her 2024 trial, Peters, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, spread conspiracy theories about voting machines, as she had done since the 2020 presidential election.
Polis, who has the power to grant clemency, has previously called Peters’ sentence “harsh,” but his post highlighting what he characterized as “sentencing disparities” between Peters and Jaquez Lewis is his most clear indication that he will take action to reduce Peters’ sentence.
“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,” Polis said in the post. “Justice in Colorado and America needs to be applied evenly, you never know when you might need to depend on the rule of law.”
Dan Rubinstein, the Republican district attorney who oversaw the trial that led to Peters’ conviction, said modifying her sentence “would be a gross injustice to the affected citizens I represent.” Colorado law establishes that sentences can range from probation to six years in prison for a charge of attempting to influence a public servant.
“That range exists because the same offense can be committed in very different ways and can result in very different consequences,” Rubinstein said in a statement. “The suggestion that everyone convicted under the same statute should receive the same sentence overlooks why the Legislature created a sentencing range in the first place: no two crimes and no two defendants are the same.”
Judge Matthew Barrett sentenced Peters to three and a half years for each felony count. Rubinstein highlighted that judges make sentencing decisions based on the evidence at trial, the impact of the conduct in question and the level of remorse the convicted person shows.
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and the Colorado County Clerks Association, in response to Polis’ initial comments on Peters’ sentence, said that she “has taken no responsibility for her actions and has shown no remorse.”
Both leading Democratic candidates running for Colorado governor in 2026 — Phil Weiser, the attorney general, and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet — said Peters’ sentence should not be shortened.
Weiser, whose office assisted in Peters’ prosecution, said Wednesday in a statement that reducing Peters’ sentence “would be a grave miscarriage of justice and dangerous for free and fair elections.” He said it would send a message that anyone who is “wealthy or politically connected” can escape justice and would erode trust that the justice system is based on fairness, equity and the law.
“Clemency should be based on remorse, rehabilitation, and extenuating circumstances — not on political influence, favor, or retribution,” Weiser said. “Tina Peters has not only demonstrated no remorse, but she has also doubled down on the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen. I have no doubt that she will continue her campaign of deception and conspiracy theories — and will only be emboldened to do so — if she is released from prison early.”
Bennet said Peters should not be pardoned and her sentence should not be commuted.
“Tina Peters knowingly broke the law, undermined our elections, and was rightfully convicted by a jury of her peers,” Bennet said in a statement from his campaign. “Donald Trump may be seeking revenge on Colorado, but surrendering to his political pressure will not make our state safer or stronger. We must defend our institutions and the rule of law — bending to Trump’s lawlessness will only produce more lawlessness.”
Trump has targeted Colorado because the state has refused to release Peters, whom he illegitimately pardoned in December. The president has threatened “harsh measures” if she isn’t released, which have included the veto of a unanimously passed bill to fund a southern Colorado water project, the denial of two disaster declaration requests, and the proposed dismantling of Boulder’s National Center for Atmospheric Research.
Don’t do it polis!