In the midst of all the economic and political turmoil in Colorado, including President Donald Trump’s revengeful acts against the state, Gov. Jared Polis has chosen to waste his time on the preposterous idea of commuting the sentence of convicted felon, Tina Peters. As you will recall, Peters was convicted of interfering with and attempting to illegally influence the electoral process which is key to a free democratic society and a linchpin thereof.

A Polis commutation of Peters’ will illustrate his total disdain and contempt for three fundamental cornerstones of our democracy — the rule of law, the independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers.

Peters was lawfully convicted by a jury of her peers and sentenced within the presumptive range of sentencing options.

The jury listened to and received all the evidence presented during the trial and determined she was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The sentencing judge who presided over the trial and sentencing hearing was fully apprised of the evidence he needed to impose his sentence. Whatever information Polis has pales in comparison to what occurred and he should not be questioning the will of the people. Unless an appellate court determines Peters was denied a fair trial the rule of law in this case has been established and should be treated with the utmost respect.

One of the most important and consequential responsibilities of a judge in a criminal proceeding is to determine whether a convicted felon should be deprived of their freedom through the imposition of a prison sentence.

The judge has guidance from many sources in determining the appropriate sentence including the parameters of the sentencing options which are determined by the legislature. Admittedly, Polis has the authority to commute sentences and has previously exercised that authority. Media reporting suggests Polis believes Peters’ sentence was too harsh. He further asserts her behavior was nonviolent. Baloney. Many of the witnesses who testified against Peters were threatened before, during and after the trial and continue to be concerned about their safety.

Peters’ disregard for the law and her rhetoric are directly related to the threats. She should not be regarded as a helpless elderly victim of the system but as the ruthless, unrepentant insurrectionist she is. She is deserving of serving every second of her sentence and should receive no quarter. If Peters, and Polis by proxy, believe her sentence is harsh they should avail themselves of the same remedy as any other convicted felon and that is to request a proportionality review to see how her sentence stacks up to others similarly situated.

Polis should not inject his judgment into the matter but should respect the independence of the judiciary and allow them to do their job.

Incidentally, the court of appeals panel hearing the appeal appeared to have questions on the propriety of the sentence. The panel should and is required to give deference to the findings of the trial court and should follow the law by doing so in this instance and avoid the impression they are succumbing to political pressure which will further damage the integrity of an already ethically challenged court.

Finally, Polis should respect the separation of powers by deferring to the judgment of the judiciary a co-equal branch of government instead of imposing his own judgment. Tina Peters has been described as an elderly frail woman who faces danger in the prison system. She didn’t appear elderly and frail in the recently released video which showed her having a physical encounter with another inmate. She appeared to hold her own. She should be reminded some prisoners can be thugs just like her followers. She should heed the old maxim “don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.”

Peters is not an innocent victim who should receive sympathy but rather a calculating, unrepentant insurrectionist who would topple the government if she had her way. What she deserves is to be incarcerated for the complete length of her sentence and for Polis to do otherwise is a slap in the face to law-abiding citizens and the rule of law.

Only time will tell if Polis will respect the justice system or become yet another weak-kneed politician willing to kiss the ring and cave to Trump’s demands.

Dennis Maes served 24 years as a 10th Judicial District judge in Pueblo and was chief judge for 17 of those years. He previously served as director of Pueblo County Legal Services, Inc.; as a public defender and as an attorney in private practice.