Polis commuted – Colorado Gov. Jared Polis granted 35 pardons and commuted nine prison sentences on Friday, including a major reduction for former Mesa County clerk Tina Peters. Polis cut her term from nearly nine years to about four-and-a-half years and ordered her parole nex
On Friday afternoon, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis issued 35 pardons and commuted the sentences of nine prisoners, setting up a new wave of backlash over how broadly the state should use clemency.
Among the actions were sentence cuts for people convicted of serious violent crimes.. Polis, a Democrat, shortened the sentences of multiple convicted murderers.. He also commuted the sentence of Brandin Kreuzer. who shot Douglas County Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Tucker in 2008 and has served 15 years of a 50-year sentence.. Tucker said he had “numerous surgeries to basically put my arm back together. ” adding that he still has “lasting nerve damage to this day” and that his arm “is not 100 percent. does not function as it should.” The current county sheriff called the commutation “furious. ” saying in a statement that the “audacity of Governor Polis to grant clemency to a would-be cop killer on National Peace Officer Memorial Day shows a complete lack of respect for the brave men and women who wear the badge.”
The clemency that has triggered the most immediate. furious bipartisan backlash in Colorado involves Tina Peters. a former Mesa County clerk.. In 2024. Peters was convicted of various crimes tied to a scheme to illegally breach the Mesa County election system and to argue that the 2020 race had been stolen from Donald Trump.. She was originally sentenced to nearly nine years behind bars.. Polis commuted her sentence on Friday to about four-and-a-half years and ordered her paroled next month.
Trump. who for months had demanded Peters’ release and tried to punish Colorado for this and other perceived transgressions. immediately celebrated Polis’ decision.. Beyond his supporters, the move has drawn broad outrage.. Matt Crane. a Republican who directs the Colorado County Clerks Association. blasted Polis in a press conference. saying: “When given the opportunity to stand firmly for the rule of law. for the integrity of Colorado elections and for the public servants who defend them. [Polis] chose a different path.” Common Cause Colorado added that “Governor Polis’ decision undermines election security. weakens accountability. and permanently stains his legacy.”
There is another competing set of facts behind the commutation.. Polis’ office emphasized that even if Peters’ conduct was wrong. the original length of her sentence was shaped by more than the illegal acts tied to the election breach.. Polis’ commutation letter to Peters said: “I had numerous surgeries to basically put my arm back together,”
(That sentence belonged to Tucker. not Peters.) For Peters. Polis wrote in his commutation letter: “The crimes you were convicted of are very serious and you deserve to spend time in prison. ” and then added. “However. this is an extremely unusual and lengthy sentence for a first time offender who committed nonviolent crimes.”
The question that follows is why Peters’ sentence was described as so severe.. Judge Matthew Barrett, at sentencing, indicated he was taking into account not just Peters’ actions, but also her conspiracy theories.. Barrett accused Peters of peddling “a snake oil that’s been proven to be junk time and time again.” He also said. “So the damage that is caused and continue[s] to be caused is just as bad. if not worse. than the physical violence that this court sees on an all too regular basis. ” and that it was “particularly damaging when those words come from someone who holds a position of influence like you.”
Last month. three Colorado appellate judges—each appointed by Polis’ Democratic predecessor—unanimously threw out Peters’ prison sentence. saying it violated her First Amendment free speech rights.. The judges ordered Peters to be resentenced, but Polis intervened before that could happen.. The appeals court concluded: “It is apparent that the [trial] court imposed the lengthy sentence it did because Peters continued to espouse the views that led her to commit these crimes. ” and said the “tenor of the [trial] court’s comments makes clear that it felt the sentence length was necessary. at least in part. to prevent her from continuing to espouse views the court deemed ‘damaging.’”
The result is a direct tension in the facts: Peters was punished for election-related crimes, but her sentence length was also tied to what a court described as the damaging nature of her “words,” and the appellate judges later said that was a First Amendment problem.
After Polis’ decision, Peters publicly acknowledged a distinction between her wrongdoing and her future message.. In a statement released after the commutation was announced. she said her actions were wrong and claimed that once released she planned to “support election integrity” through “legal means.” She also posted on May 15. 2026: “Thank you Governor Polis.I made mistakes. and for those I am sorry.. Five years ago I misled the Secretary of State when allowing a person to gain access to county voting equipment.. That was wrong.. I have learned and grown during my time in prison and going forward I will make…”
Peters is expected to face continued criticism over her views even after her release.. Polis addressed that issue in an interview Friday with 9News’ Kyle Clark.. “I vehemently disagree with much of what she has to say, certainly her conspiratorial beliefs,” the governor said.. He added that the proper way to oppose such rhetoric is through public refutation rather than punishment for beliefs.. “That’s not the country we live in,” Polis said, concluding, “I believe in free speech.”
Jared Polis Tina Peters Mesa County clerk commutation pardons Colorado elections First Amendment election security parole