Did the Colorado appeals court rule Tina Peters must receive a lower sentence?

Though the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters must be resentenced for her crimes, the judge who initially sentenced her could impose the same penalty. 

A Mesa County jury convicted Peters of four felonies and three misdemeanors at her 2024 trial, finding she illegally tampered with election systems in a failed bid to find evidence of election fraud. She faced a penalty ranging from probation to up to nearly 20 years in prison.

On Oct. 23, 2024, District Judge Matthew Barrett sentenced Peters to nearly nine years behind bars, saying Peters “had found a way to profit off of lies and would continue to do so if she remained out of prison.”

The appeals panel ordered a resentencing because they found Barrett unfairly considered Peters’ election denial claims in sentencing her, violating her First Amendment rights. The panel upheld her convictions, however.