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DENVER, CO – General Assembly Democrats today sent a letter to Governor Jared Polis, urging him not to grant clemency, sentence commutation, or a federal transfer to Tina Peters.
In the letter, the General Assembly Democrats wrote:
“Gubernatorial clemency, pardons, and similar sentence forgiveness are processes for those who have taken accountability for their crimes, understand the harm that they have created, and made good faith efforts for restitution to victims and self-rehabilitation. Ms. Peters has made no efforts to these ends. Instead, she refuses to take accountability for her crimes and continues to push election-denial conspiracy theories.”
They continued:
“We ask for your approach to consider, beyond all else, that the impacts of your decision ripple far beyond fairness in carceral sentencing. This is not about any of us, or you, or even Ms. Peters. This is about the security and assuredness of our elections as a whole. 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 that future.”
The full text of the letter is below:
Governor Polis:
We thank you for your service to our state and the dedication with which you serve the people of Colorado.
We write today to urge you not to grant clemency, sentence commutation, any other sentence reduction, or a federal transfer to Tina Peters.
While we acknowledge you have concerns with what the Colorado Appellate Court found in the processes of Ms. Peters’ case and the questions that the court continues to assess, the resolution to those issues should be handled by the judicial branch. It is our understanding that such a review is underway with further information being sought by the court, and we urge you to allow that process to advance and for the judicial system alone to handle review of any further actions in this case.
Gubernatorial clemency, pardons, and similar sentence forgiveness are processes for those who have taken accountability for their crimes, understand the harm that they have created, and made good faith efforts for restitution to victims and self-rehabilitation. Ms. Peters has made no efforts to these ends. Instead, she refuses to take accountability for her crimes and continues to push election-denial conspiracy theories. Her total lack of remorse is in addition to her at-times violent behavior, which was captured on video when she attacked a police officer and, separately, another inmate. We also wish to remind you that most estimates place Ms. Peters’ release around late 2027 or early 2028, should she act with good behavior. We believe this is a reasonable sentence for attempts to tamper with and sow discord around our elections.
We would be remiss if we did not express strong concern about the impact of Ms. Peters’ crimes in fueling election conspiracy theories that undermine the integrity of our elections system as a whole. We fear that any clemency or other sentence reduction on your part will further embolden these conspiracies and those who propagate them. We urge you not to empower those who seek to undermine our elections and our Republic by providing them with a figurehead to rally around and near assurance that, when you tamper with our elections, you will escape justice.
We also wish to share our sincere concern for the safety and longevity of our county clerks, in particular rural county clerks and their staff, should you grant sentence relief. As a result of election denial conspiracy theories - the likes of which Ms. Peters continues to propagate - our election administrators face threats to their safety and attempted interference in their work. In the last year alone, we have seen one Colorado elections office targeted with arson, in addition to other increasing threats against our election workers.
As they seek to ensure transparency and integrity in our elections, clerks and election workers should be afforded every safeguard the state can provide. They have made their message clear and we reiterate it here: if you take this action, many will leave their roles and Colorado’s safe and secure elections will suffer greatly as a result.
We applaud your transparent approach to this issue, and share your desire to see equal application of justice. In this case, we ask that you let the courts do that work, as is their mandate.
We ask for your approach to consider - beyond all else - that the impacts of your decision ripple far beyond fairness in carceral sentencing. This is not about any of us, or you, or even Ms. Peters. This is about the security and assuredness of our elections as a whole. 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 that future.
Thank you for your consideration of our genuine concern for the future of our elections.
Sincerely,
Senator Katie Wallace
Chair of the Senate State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee
Representative Jenny Willford
Chair of the House State, Civic, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee
Senator Mike Weissman
Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee
Representative Javier Mabrey
Chair of the House Judiciary Committee
Senator James Coleman
President of the Senate
Representative Julie McCluskie
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Senator Robert Rodriguez
Senate Majority Leader
Representative Monica Duran
House Majority Leader
Senator Judy Amabile
Senator Matt Ball
Senator Adrienne Benavidez
Senator Jeff Bridges
Senator Lisa Cutter
Assistant Majority Leader
Senator Jessie Danielson
Senator Lindsey Daugherty
Senator Tony Exum, Sr.
Senator Julie Gonzales
Senator Nick Hinrichsen
Majority Caucus Whip
Senator Iman Jodeh
Senator Cathy Kipp
President Pro Tempore
Senator Chris Kolker
Senator William Lindstedt
Senator Janice Marchman
Senator Kyle Mullica
Senator Dylan Roberts
Majority Caucus Chair
Senator Marc Snyder
Senator Tom Sullivan
Representative Jennifer Bacon
Assistant Majority Leader
Representative Andrew Boesenecker
Speaker Pro Tempore
Representative Kyle Brown
Representative Sean Camacho
Representative Michael Carter
Representative Chad Clifford
Representative Regina English
Representative Cecelia Espenoza
Representative Lisa Feret
Representative Meg Froelich
Representative Lorena Garcia
Representative Lindsay Gilchrist
Representative Lori Goldstein
Representative Eliza Hamrick
Representative Jamie Jackson
Representative Junie Joseph
Majority Caucus Co-Chair
Representative Sheila Lieder
Representative Mandy Lindsay
Majority Caucus Co-Chair
Representative Meghan Lukens
Representative Bob Marshall
Representative Matthew Martinez
Majority Caucus Co-Whip
Representative Tisha Mauro
Representative Karen McCormick
Representative Kenny Nguyen
Representative Amy Paschal
Representative Jacque Phillips
Representative Naquetta Ricks
Representative Manny Rutinel
Representative Gretchen Rydin
Representative Emily Sirota
Representative Lesley Smith
Representative Katie Stewart
Representative Rebekah Stewart
Representative Tammy Story
Representative Brianna Titone
Representative Alex Valdez
Representative Elizabeth Velasco
Majority Caucus Co-Whip
Representative Steven Woodrow
Representative Yara Zokaie