Federal Prison Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025
In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 58 people were sentenced in the District of Colorado for offenses in the U.S. Sentencing Commission's "Prison Offenses" type. 59% received a sentence within the guideline range, compared with 63% for all 94 districts. The median prison term was 14.5 months, compared wit
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Trends › Federal Prosecution Analysis › Federal Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 › Prison Offense: District of Colorado
In brief: In fiscal years 2016 to 2025, 58 people were sentenced in the District of Colorado for offenses in the U.S. Sentencing Commission's "Prison Offenses" type. 59% received a sentence within the guideline range, compared with 63% for all 94 districts. The median prison term was 14.5 months, compared with 10 months for all districts.
This post uses the U.S. Sentencing Commission's records of 58 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 series, which builds on Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System. How the numbers were built: How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built.
Sentences Within the Guideline Range
The U.S. Sentencing Guidelines produce a range for each case. For all 58 people, the records show how the actual sentence related to that range.
A sentence within the range was given to 34 people (59%). A sentence below the range without a government request was given to 15 (26%), and one below the range at the government's request to 8 (14%). 1 person (2%) received a sentence above the range.
For all districts, 63% of sentences in this offense type were within the range. For all offenses in the District of Colorado, the figure was 36%.
Prison Terms
Of the 58 people, 54 (93%) received a prison term, and 1 (2%) received probation only. For all districts, 96% were sent to prison.
Among those sent to prison in Colorado, the median prison term was 14.5 months. A quarter received 20.8 months or more, and a quarter received 10 months or less. The median for all offenses in the district was 36 months. The terms are the sentences ordered, not the time actually spent in custody.
What Prison Offenses Are
"Prison Offenses" is a category the Commission assigns by the main guideline used. In Colorado, §2P1.2 (Providing or Possessing Contraband in Prison) was the primary guideline for 27 people. §2P1.1 (Escape, Instigating or Assisting Escape) was the primary guideline for 22.
These cases were 1% of the 4,231 people sentenced in the district in fiscal years 2016 to 2025.
One Trial Among 58 Cases
A total of 57 of 58 people (98%) pleaded guilty, and 1 person was convicted after a trial. For all districts, 99% pleaded guilty. All of the guilty pleas had a written plea agreement.
The median prison term after a guilty plea was 14 months. The one person convicted at trial received 37 months. A single case cannot be used to compare plea and trial outcomes.
Criminal History and Other Terms
In criminal history, 14% were in the lowest category, Category I, and 41% were in the highest, Category VI. Court-martial records have no criminal history field.
A mandatory minimum prison term applied to 0 of the 57 people with that information recorded (0%). Supervised release after prison was ordered for 28 people (48%), with a median term of 36 months. No fine and no restitution was ordered (0% for each).
Yearly Counts Are Very Small
The district sentenced 25 people in this offense type in fiscal years 2016 to 2019 and 33 in fiscal years 2020 to 2025. Fiscal years begin on October 1.
Yearly counts run from 2 to 11 people. The median for 2025 was 0.2 months, based on 3 people. Counts this small do not show a trend.
| Fiscal year | People sentenced | Median prison | Pleaded guilty |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 8 | 18 months | 8 of 8 |
| 2017 | 4 | 19.5 months | 4 of 4 |
| 2018 | 6 | 15 months | 5 of 6 |
| 2019 | 7 | 6 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2020 | 7 | 12 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2021 | 11 | 16 months | 100% |
| 2022 | 2 | 16.5 months | 2 of 2 |
| 2023 | 3 | 19.5 months | 3 of 3 |
| 2024 | 7 | 13 months | 7 of 7 |
| 2025 | 3 | 0.2 months | 3 of 3 |
Limits on These Numbers
No acquitted or dismissed defendants are included. The Commission's data begins at sentencing.
For context, this site's court-martial data lists Buckley SFB, Fort Carson, Peterson SFB, and the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. Those cases belong to military courts. No record here links an installation to any of the 58 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 "Prison Offenses" (58). 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.
Related Analysis
- Military Moves Toward Sentencing Guidelines to Mirror the Federal System (the background article)
- Federal Prosecution Analysis (all federal posts)
- How the Federal Comparison Data Was Built (sources and method)
- Federal Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (overview)
- Federal Drug Trafficking Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Firearms Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Immigration Offense Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- Federal Fraud, Theft, and Embezzlement Sentences in the District of Colorado, FY2016–2025 (same district, other offense type)
- U.S. Sentencing Commission, Individual Offender Datafiles (source)
- Federal Judicial Center, Integrated Database (criminal defendants) (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. This analysis is for education and information only. It is not legal advice, and every case is different.