Colorado Governor Jared Polis fired two members of the state’s clemency board after they spoke out against his decision to grant clemency to Tina Peters, a pro-life advocate who had been sentenced for 2020 election-related crimes. Azra Taslimi and Hannah Seigel Proff told CNN they were fired after speaking out publicly, including in a New York Times article in June, in which they revealed secret details about the clemency process and criticized the governor for overruling the board.

Clemency Decision

The clemency board twice voted unanimously behind closed doors to reject Peters’ application for an early release from prison. However, Polis decided to release Peters, citing a recent Colorado appeals court ruling that found the trial judge violated Peters’ First Amendment rights by improperly punishing her for her protected speech about the 2020 election.

Polis’ decision came after President Donald Trump waged a long pressure campaign against Colorado to free Peters. Peters was the last Trump ally still in prison for 2020 election-related crimes and was released from prison in June.

Confidentiality Breach

In letters to Taslimi and Proff, Polis said the two members breached confidentiality by speaking out. The governor’s spokesperson, Eric Maruyama, told CNN that publicly disclosing board recommendations and how members vote on any case threatens the credibility of the board and breaks clearly stated confidentiality policy.

Proff, who served on the board for nearly eight years, said she understood the state rules around the closed-door clemency recommendation process ‘more as the confidentiality to protect the people who apply for clemency, not to protect the governor.’ Now that they’ve been terminated, Proff worries there will be less transparency and that politicians will go unchecked on these sorts of decisions.

Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.