Twenty-nine people convicted of crimes in Colorado were given a clean slate Wednesday through pardons granted by Gov. Jared Polis.
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The pardons cover a range of convictions across the state, including theft, drug possession and fraud. Twenty-eight of those people pleaded guilty and one was convicted, according to pardon letters published by the governor’s office.
“Of the hundreds of applications for pardons my office receives, yours is one of the few I am granting,” Polis wrote in letters to the people he pardoned.
“I am doing so because you have demonstrated your commitment to moving past your conviction and starting anew, while taking with you lessons you have learned throughout your life,” he continued.
Polis highlighted their successes after conviction, including raising children and grandchildren, pursuing higher education, serving in the military and excelling in their careers.
The governor is the only person who can grant clemency for state crimes under the Colorado Constitution, which can mean a commutation — a reduced criminal sentence — or a pardon, which is full forgiveness of a crime.
Polis made national headlines earlier this year when he granted clemency and freed former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who was serving a nine-year sentence. The move sparked significant backlash from other elected officials and the Colorado Democratic Party.
Two members of the clemency board spoke out against the decision, and the governor fired them.
To date, Polis has granted 165 individual pardons and 35 commutations, along with 4,083 blanket pardons for marijuana possession and four pardons for psilocybin or psilocin possession, spokesperson Eric Maruyama said.
The governor’s previous clemency actions included commuting the sentences for two men serving life in prison for murder and reducing the 110-year sentence for a truck driver convicted in a Lakewood crash that killed four people.
People pardoned by Gov. Jared Polis on Aug. 26, 2026:
- Xochilt Alamillo
- Harmony Baddeley-Spurlock
- Idania Beltran
- Derek Bilbrey
- Darren Black
- James Bruntz, Jr.
- Sarah Bunting
- Seidilyn Burgos
- Jonathan Carey
- Hemmingway Dai
- Jeremy Dieckhoff
- Scott Dillon
- Steve Estwick, Sr.
- Sabrina Flanagan
- Ernest Flowers
- Joshua Hayden
- Max Hernandez
- Steven Holzwarth
- Aidan Kehoe
- Robert Kile
- Joseph Martinez
- Ian McGehee
- Chad Meiers
- Haven Rohnert
- Melanie Roth
- Estela Saenz
- Joshua Salazar
- Justin Sandefur
- Travis Weickum
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Updated 4:45 p.m. Aug. 26, 2026: This story has been updated to report that most of the pardoned individuals pleaded guilty to crimes, but one was convicted.
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