A woman at the center of one of the most controversial election-related criminal cases in recent memory walked out of a Colorado prison on Monday, and the Democrat who let her go is now facing consequences from his own party.
Tina Peters, the former Mesa County Clerk, was freed after Colorado Governor Jared Polis moved to commute her sentence earlier last month.
Peters had been sentenced to nine years behind bars following her conviction on charges tied to election law violations stemming from the 2020 presidential race.
The commutation came on May 15, setting the stage for her release and an immediate political firestorm.
At the heart of the original case was an incident during the 2020 election cycle in which Peters was accused of allowing a person to gain entry to election equipment linked to Dominion Voting Systems using an election worker’s badge.
Peters maintained that the access was motivated by a desire to uncover evidence of election fraud.
Polis drew a firm line between a commutation and a full pardon in his public comments on the decision.
“She, because of her incorrect and unpopular speech, got an unduly harsh sentence,” the governor said. “I’m not pardoning her. I publicly have said very early on I would not even consider a pardon. She’s a convicted felon. She deserves to be a convicted felon. She will remain a convicted felon.”
The governor pointed to the behavior of the sentencing judge as central to his reasoning.
In a separate interview with 9News, Polis said he stood behind the position taken by an appeals court regarding how the sentencing was handled.
“I agree with the appeals court that in the sentencing hearing, the judge incorrectly looked at and considered her bizarre viewpoints, her speech, and held her speech against her,” Polis said.
He added, “She committed a crime. What’s an issue here is how long the sentence is.”
Peters made her first public appearance after release on Steve Bannon’s WarRoom broadcast, where she turned part of her focus toward the state of the American prison system.
She called for stronger rehabilitation programs for incarcerated individuals across the country.
Asked by Bannon to describe what freedom felt like after her ordeal, Peters did not shy away from expressing how the experience had affected her.
“It’s been quite the ordeal, but I really want to thank God for His faithfulness and for getting me through it,” she said.
Back in the political arena, Polis found himself paying a price with his own base over the commutation decision.
More than 800 Democrats signed a formal petition condemning the move, and the governor was officially censured by members of his own party on May 20, just days after the commutation was issued.
