Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, is catching a lot of flak for granting clemency to former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, a conspiracy theorist who was sentenced to nearly nine years in jail and prison for compromising election security in a vain effort to show that voting machines were rigged against Donald Trump in 2020. Yet despite the vehement criticism of Polis' decision and legitimate questions about its timing, his stated reasons for approving Peters' early release are compelling.
On Friday, Polis commuted Peters' sentence to four years and four and a half months, saying she would be released on June 1 to serve the rest of that sentence on parole. Trump, who had repeatedly said Peters should be freed and had even granted her a pardon that had no practical effect because the president's clemency powers do not extend to state crimes, was predictably pleased.
