Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Clemency

Polis Responds To Peters Controversy With Taped Mouth Protest
DENVER7, Approved, State

Polis Responds To Peters Controversy With Taped Mouth Protest

By Robert Garrison | Denver7 Denver7 has been following the latest developments in the Tina Peters case. DENVER — Just a week after Democrats censured Gov. Jared Polis for granting Tina Peters clemency, the governor appeared during a party Zoom meeting Wednesday with tape over his mouth. The governor’s stunt during an internal party briefing was seemingly a reaction to last week’s 89.8% censure vote by the Democratic Party’s central committee, of which he is a member. READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT DENVER7
Tina Peters Thanks Polis Accuses Democrats Of Silencing Dissent
Approved, DENVER7, State

Tina Peters Thanks Polis Accuses Democrats Of Silencing Dissent

By Óscar Contreras | Denver7 Denver7 continues to follow developments since the disgraced former Mesa County Clerk and 2020 election denier was granted clemency by the governor last week. DENVER — Former Mesa County Clerk and 2020 election denier Tina Peters spoke out for the first time since her commutation last week, accusing Colorado Democrats of an election cover-up while defending Gov. Jared Polis for reducing her nine-year prison sentence. In a post on X, Peters accused state Democrats of putting “a bullseye on a 70-year-old, nonviolent, first-time offender” and said Democrats were attacking Gov. Polis for showing mercy. “Doesn’t that make you wonder why? It should be obvious to Democrats and Republicans alike that they have something to hide,” Peters wrote. “It is so obv...
Colorado Democrats Punish Polis Over Decision In Tina Peters Case
Approved, DENVER7, State

Colorado Democrats Punish Polis Over Decision In Tina Peters Case

By Kaylee Harter | Denver7 The 90% vote bars Polis from participating as an honored guest, featured speaker or official rep of the Colorado Democratic Party at events. The Colorado Democratic Party State Central Committee voted overwThelmingly to censure Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday, formally rebuking him for commuting the sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters. The censure bars the governor from participating as an honored guest, featured speaker or official representative of the Colorado Democratic Party at party-sponsored events, including the Obama Gala and DemFest. The motion, read by DNC member Stephanie Beal, said the committee found that Polis' decision to grant clemency to Peters "materially harmed the Colorado Democratic Party's institutional credibility and ef...
Vance Backs Compensation For Tina Peters As Colorado Fallout Grows
DENVER7, Approved, National

Vance Backs Compensation For Tina Peters As Colorado Fallout Grows

By Jessica Porter | Denver7 The Vice President made the comments when asked about a new $1.8 billion fund for political allies. DENVER — Vice President JD Vance held Tina Peters up as a shining example of someone who should be compensated under the Trump administration's newly created $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund.” “This innocent grandmother was going to spend 10 years in prison, completely disproportionate to any misdemeanor trespassing that I have ever seen. Was that fair, no? Is it reasonable to get some compensation for the fact that she was treated unfairly? I think the answer was yes,” Vance said during a press conference on Tuesday. Tina Peters was convicted in 2024 of allowing an unauthorized person to download software from Mesa County’s elec...
Polis explained both commutations in writing. One drew a party revolt.
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Polis explained both commutations in writing. One drew a party revolt.

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice Democrats organized a censure push over Tina Peters. No comparable campaign emerged over the commutation of Brandin Kreuzer. On the same day Gov. Jared Polis commuted Tina Peters' sentence, he granted clemency to a man convicted of shooting a Douglas County sheriff's deputy during a 2008 crime spree. Peters drew a formal complaint signed by hundreds of Democrats, an impeachment call and a sitting U.S. senator's rebuke. The other commutation drew none of that. No party complaint. No impeachment call. No signature drive. Polis put both of his reasons in writing. Two letters, one day Brandin Kreuzer was charged with attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer and convicted of first-degree assault, along with second-degree kidnappi...
Nearly 500 Democrats move to censure Polis. His own party meets Wednesday to decide what to do.
State, Rocky Mountain Voice, Top Stories

Nearly 500 Democrats move to censure Polis. His own party meets Wednesday to decide what to do.

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice The Colorado Democratic Party's central committee meets Wednesday to decide what to do about its own governor. In front of it is a formal complaint, signed by hundreds of Democrats and growing by the hour, asking the party to censure Gov. Jared Polis for commuting Tina Peters' sentence. The signers are not asking a court to undo the commutation. They are not asking the legislature to reverse it. They cannot.  Colorado's constitution gives the governor sole clemency authority, and neither the courts nor the legislature nor the party can take back what Polis already signed. What the signers want is for the party to declare that one of its own governors acted against its interests, to bar him from its marquee events and to say publicly ...
Before Peters is resentenced, Barrett must decide whether he keeps the case
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Before Peters is resentenced, Barrett must decide whether he keeps the case

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice A Mesa County judge has ordered the state’s attorneys to respond to a motion seeking his removal from the Tina Peters case, setting up a legal fight that will determine who presides over her resentencing—and who decides whether she remains in prison while that process unfolds. In an April 22 order, District Court Judge Matthew Barrett directed the state to file a response “as soon as practicable,” with a deadline of April 27. The order does not resolve the issue. It moves it forward. Now the court must decide whether Barrett can remain on the case—and nothing else in district court moves until that question is answered. 2026-0422 ACTION TAKEN_VERIFIED MOTION TO DISQUALIFY JUDGE MATTHEW BARRETT - People Respond by 4-27Download ...
Colorado Must Reconsider the Imprisonment of Tina Peters
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, State, Top Stories

Colorado Must Reconsider the Imprisonment of Tina Peters

By Rep. Ken DeGraaf | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice The case of former Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters has become one of the most controversial legal and political episodes in modern Colorado election administration. But stripped of partisan rhetoric and competing narratives, the core issue before the public is far simpler—and far more troubling. Should an election official who believed she was preserving federally required election records spend years in prison for a disputed administrative decision? That question deserves serious reflection from every Coloradan, regardless of political affiliation. Public confidence in elections depends not only on accurate vote counts but on transparency in the systems that produce those results. When officials believ...
All 66 Colorado Democrat Lawmakers Press Polis To Reject Clemency For Tina Peters
The Colorado Sun, Approved, State

All 66 Colorado Democrat Lawmakers Press Polis To Reject Clemency For Tina Peters

By: Jesse Paul | The Colorado Sun The letter warned that clemency would be a gift to conspiracy theorists and risks undermining the safety of future elections. All 66 Democrats in the Colorado legislature signed onto a letter Wednesday urging Gov. Jared Polis not to reduce the prison sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, a missive that escalates the party’s near-universal disapproval of Polis’ posture toward the case.  “This is about the security and assuredness of our elections,” the letter said. “This is about the future of our democracy, and of free and fair elections in our nation. We ask you to stand with us in safeguarding the future.” The letter says that clemency is “for those who have taken accountability for their crimes, understand ...
Same Colorado law, different outcomes: Probation in Denver, prison in Mesa County
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Same Colorado law, different outcomes: Probation in Denver, prison in Mesa County

By Jen Schumann | Rocky Mountain Voice In Colorado, the same felony statute led to two very different courtroom outcomes. One walked away with probation. Peters is now serving a prison sentence that stretches close to a decade. The case against Peters unfolded under Colorado’s statute on attempting to influence a public servant—§ 18-8-306, the same law used in the prosecution of former Colorado state Sen. Sonya Jaquez Lewis. In Denver District Court, jurors convicted Lewis on four felony counts tied to forged letters submitted during a Senate ethics investigation. The Mesa County verdict came with far steeper consequences. Peters received a prison sentence totaling nine years. Gov. Jared Polis referenced the Lewis sentencing this week while ...

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