A recent comment by Gov. Jared Polis about former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters has her defense attorney nodding in agreement.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In an interview on Thursday with CBS Colorado, Polis called Peters\u2019 prison sentence \u201charsh,\u201d fueling interest in whether or not the 70-year-old Peters could get clemency.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe got a sentence that was harsh. It was a nine-year sentence,\u201d Polis told CBS Colorado. \u201cWe always look at people\u2019s sentences and when you have people that are elderly, and we\u2019re looking at this across a number of people \u2014 people that are in their 70s and 80s in our system \u2014 how much of a threat to society are they? And we balance that in a way that makes sure that they can spend their last few years at home.\u201d <\/p>\n
Peters received a sentence of a little more than 8 years in the state department of corrections, as well as some months in county jail, for her role in allowing unauthorized access to county voting equipment in 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her parole date is December 2028, though that date will likely move up based on department of corrections rules that allow for an inmate\u2019s parole date to be moved up based on the department\u2019s \u201cearned time\u201d policy<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n In an email, Peters\u2019 attorney, Peter Ticktin, said they have requested a pardon and that he agreed with Polis\u2019 comments.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cGovernor Polis is correct. The sentence was harsh. We are thankful that he is looking at this more fairly,\u201d Ticktin said in an email.\u00a0<\/p>\n Twenty-first Judicial District Attorney Dan Rubinstein said he has discussed the issue with Polis.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI have met with the governor, and it is my understanding that he has made no decisions and is intending to meet with many others before making a final decision,\u201d Rubinstein said in an email.\u00a0<\/p>\n The multi-pronged effort to free Peters thus far has included federal appeals, state appeals and a pardon<\/a> from President Donald Trump that few think holds up to state legal muster. Peters\u2019 attorneys argued that there may be a new reading of the presidential pardon powers which would allow them to be read as applying to state charges as well as federal charges. State attorneys disagree.\u00a0<\/p>\n Polis has maintained<\/a> that a request for clemency from Peters would be treated the same as any other. He\u2019s faced pressure from President Donald Trump<\/a> and others outside<\/a> of Colorado to release or pardon Peters. At the same time, county clerks within the state have asked<\/a> the governor to do more to stand up to efforts to assist Peters. <\/p>\n While a pardon would grant Peters full forgiveness for the crimes she was convicted of, Polis could also reduce the sentence through a commutation if he deemed it too harsh. Notably, Polis did that in the case of a truck driver who crashed into traffic on Interstate 70 in 2019, killing four people. In that case, Polis called<\/a> the 110-year sentence \u201cdisproportionate\u201d and commuted the sentence to a decade. <\/p>\n