Colorado Governor Jared Polis announced on Friday that he is commuting the sentence of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters. The 70-year-old former official had been convicted of tampering with election equipment and allowing unauthorized people to access her county’s voting systems in a scheme to make a copy of the election computer system.
Peters was originally sentenced to nine years in prison, though the term was noted as eight and a half years. Governor Polis reduced the sentence to approximately four and a half years, describing the original term as harsh and an extremely unusual and lengthy sentence for a first time offender who committed non-violent crimes.
The case had been an intense focus for Donald Trump and his allies who sought to overturn the 2020 election. President Trump had repeatedly demanded her release and championed the case, leading to a pressure campaign by the Trump administration to free the former clerk.
Following the commutation, Peters is scheduled to be released on parole on June 1.