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# Federal Murder Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025
- URL: https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-murder-sentences-district-of-colorado/
- Published: 2026-11-04T11:09:52.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-04T11:09:52.000Z
- Description: All 12 people sentenced for murder offenses in the District of Colorado in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and 4 received a life sentence. The median prison term was 246 months (20.5 years), compared with 240 months for all 94 districts. 7 of the 12 (58%) pleaded guilty, and 5 were
- Author: Jocelyn C. Stewart
- Tags: Understanding Trends, Federal

[Trends](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/) › [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) › [Federal Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-colorado/) › Murder: District of Colorado

**In brief:** All 12 people sentenced for murder offenses in the District of Colorado in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 received a prison term, and 4 received a life sentence. The median prison term was 246 months (20.5 years), compared with 240 months for all 94 districts. 7 of the 12 (58%) pleaded guilty, and 5 were convicted after a trial.

Updated November 4, 2026 · Sources: U.S. Sentencing Commission and Federal Judicial Center, fiscal years 2016–2025

This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 12 people sentenced in federal court in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. Acquittals and dismissals come from a second source, the Federal Judicial Center's records of 753,808 federal defendants whose cases ended in fiscal years 2016 to 2025\. It is part of the [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) series, which builds on [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/). How the numbers were built: [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/).

## Prison Terms and Life Sentences

Each of the 12 people (100%) received a prison term, and none received probation only. 4 of them received a life sentence.

The median prison term was 246 months (20.5 years). A quarter received 470 months or more, and a quarter received 162 months or less. For all districts, the median was 240 months, and for all offenses in the District of Colorado it was 36 months. These are sentences imposed, not time served.

## Trials Were Common

Trials were more common here than across the district, where 97% of all people sentenced pleaded guilty. In Colorado, 7 of the 12 people (58%) pleaded guilty and 5 were convicted after a trial. For all districts, 78% pleaded guilty.

The median prison term was 168 months after a guilty plea and 288 months after a trial. The trial figure rests on 5 people, so it describes a small group.

All 7 guilty pleas had a written plea agreement, and none was a straight plea with no agreement.

## Which Guidelines Applied

"Murder" is the U.S. Sentencing Commission's name for an offense type. In Colorado, §2A1.1 (First Degree Murder) was the primary guideline for 5 people. §2A1.2 (Second Degree Murder) applied to 4, and §2X3.1 (Accessory After the Fact) to 2.

These cases were less than 1% of the 4,231 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.

## Mandatory Minimums and the Guideline Range

A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 5 of the 12 people (42%). Judges also calculate a range under the Sentencing Guidelines. In 6 cases (50%), the sentence was within it.

A sentence below the range at the government's request was given to 3 people (25%), and one below the range without that request to 2 (17%). One sentence (8%) was above the range. For all districts, 39% of murder sentences were within the range.

## Supervised Release, Fines, and Criminal History

Supervised release after prison was ordered for 9 people (75%), with a median term of 60 months. A fine was ordered for 2 (17%), and restitution for 5 (42%).

In criminal history, 55% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 27% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.

## Yearly Counts

The district sentenced 4 people for murder in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 8 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025\. The table lists the 8 years with cases. Each year has 1 to 3 people, so the yearly medians, from 144 months in 2022 to 470 months in 2016 and 2024, reflect a few cases and show no trend.

| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
| ----------- | ---------------- | ------------- | -------------- |
| 2016        | 1                | 470 months    | 0 of 1         |
| 2017        | 2                | 295 months    | 2 of 2         |
| 2018        | 1                | 288 months    | 0 of 1         |
| 2020        | 1                | 168 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2022        | 3                | 144 months    | 3 of 3         |
| 2023        | 2                | 337 months    | 0 of 2         |
| 2024        | 1                | 470 months    | 1 of 1         |
| 2025        | 1                | 180 months    | 0 of 1         |

## What These Numbers Leave Out

The Commission's data covers only people who were convicted and sentenced. It does not include acquittals or dismissals, which matters in an offense type where trials are common.

Buckley SFB, Fort Carson, Peterson SFB, and the U.S. Air Force Academy are in this district and appear in this site's court-martial data. Courts-martial are tried in military courts, not this federal court, and the records do not link the installations to these 12 federal cases.

### How We Counted

Everyone sentenced in federal court in the District of Colorado (U.S. Sentencing Commission district label "Colorado") in fiscal years 2016 to 2025 whose offense type was "Murder" (12). Offense types are the Commission's OFFGUIDE categories.

Federal fiscal years run from October 1 to September 30\. No person, judge, or lawyer is identified in any of these records.

### What to Keep in Mind

**No parole in federal prison; credit for good conduct.** Federal prison has no parole for crimes committed on or after November 1, 1987\. A federal prisoner can earn up to 54 days of good conduct credit for each year of the sentence the judge imposed, which is about 15%. Some federal prisoners can also earn First Step Act time credits, but many offenses make a person ineligible. The numbers in this post are the sentences judges imposed, not the time people actually served.

**Federal supervised release.** Most federal prison sentences are followed by a term of supervised release that the judge sets as part of the sentence. A person who violates it can be sent back to prison. A court-martial cannot sentence anyone to supervision after release. Military parole and mandatory supervised release are decided later by a board, not by the judge at trial.

**Who decides the sentence, and under what rules.** Federal judges sentence every federal case. They must calculate the Sentencing Guidelines range, which is advisory, and must impose any mandatory minimum the statute requires unless an exception applies. In courts-martial, the accused could choose sentencing by members until the rules changed. For cases in which every guilty finding is for an offense committed after December 27, 2023, a military judge sentences alone, within sentencing parameters. Courts-martial tried in 2024 and later include both old-rule and new-rule cases, and the data cannot tell them apart.

**Time periods.** Federal numbers are by federal fiscal year (October 1 to September 30), based on the sentencing date. The military numbers are by trial date. Neither source has the date of the offense, so a change in law shows up in either data set gradually.

**How life sentences and "time served" are counted.** In the federal numbers, a life sentence is counted as 470 months, and any other sentence longer than 470 months is counted as just under 470 months. A sentence of "time served" is counted as one day (0.03 months). Averages are affected by these rules; medians much less.

**Mandatory minimum sentences.** Many federal statutes on drugs, images of child exploitation, child sex abuse, and firearms carry mandatory minimum prison terms. The UCMJ has mandatory minimums only for a few offenses (a dishonorable discharge or dismissal for rape and sexual assault, and life for premeditated murder). Federal sentences for these offenses are partly set by Congress, not by the judge.

## Related Analysis

- [Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/military-sentencing-guidelines-federal-system/) (the background article)
- [Federal Prosecution Analysis](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal/) (all federal posts)
- [How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-data-methodology/) (sources and method)
- [Federal Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-district-district-of-colorado/) (overview)
- [Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-drug-trafficking-sentences-district-of-colorado/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-firearms-sentences-district-of-colorado/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-immigration-sentences-district-of-colorado/) (same district, other offense type)
- [Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025](https://www.bodiesburied.com/trends/federal-fraud-theft-embezzlement-sentences-district-of-colorado/) (same district, other offense type)
- [U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles](https://www.ussc.gov/research/datafiles/commission-datafiles?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)
- [Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants)](https://www.fjc.gov/research/idb?ref=bodiesburied.com) (source)

**About the author.** Jocelyn C. Stewart is a retired Army JAG with more than 24 years of trying courts-martial and more than 200 jury trials. She hosts *Where All The Bodies Are Buried* and runs the [Law Office of Jocelyn C. Stewart](https://www.ucmj-defender.com/?ref=bodiesburied.com). This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.