Colorado Governor Commutes Former County Clerk's Prison Sentence
The governor reduced the sentence of a former Mesa County clerk convicted of election-related offenses. The decision followed a state appeals court ruling that part of the original sentence considered protected speech.
nbcnews.comColorado's governor commuted the prison sentence of a former county clerk convicted of seven felonies and misdemeanors tied to unauthorized access of voting equipment. The clerk will be released June 1 to serve the remainder of a reduced term on parole.
The original sentence imposed six months in county jail and more than eight years in state prison. A state appeals court had ruled that comments by the sentencing judge about the clerk's beliefs on the 2020 election improperly influenced the length of the term.
The convictions stemmed from a 2021 incident in which the clerk allowed an outside consultant to copy voting machine software under a false county employee identification. Security cameras were disabled during the access, and still images from a recording later appeared online.
A jury found the clerk guilty of attempting to influence a public servant, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, official misconduct, and related charges. The trial judge described the conduct as an abuse of office and noted a lack of remorse at sentencing.
The Colorado Court of Appeals determined that the trial judge's references to the clerk's continued public statements about election integrity went beyond proper sentencing factors. The panel concluded that the lengthy term was based in part on constitutionally protected speech.
The court remanded the case for resentencing. The governor's commutation eliminated the need for that step while preserving the felony conviction.
In a May 15 letter, the governor stated that nine years of incarceration was unusually long for a first-time offender convicted of nonviolent crimes. The governor also cited the clerk's expression of responsibility and commitment to follow the law going forward.
The clerk posted on social media that she had misled state officials about access to voting equipment and said she had learned from the experience. The governor emphasized that the action was a commutation, not a pardon, and that the clerk remains a convicted felon.
