Colorado Revised Statutes Title 16. Criminal Proceedings § 16-11-301. Sentences--commitments--correctional facilities--county jail--age limit

(1) As a general rule, imprisonment for the conviction of a felony by an adult offender shall be served by confinement in an appropriate facility as determined by the executive director of the department of corrections. In such cases, the court will sentence the offender to the custody of the executive director of the department of corrections.

(2) Unless otherwise provided in the “Colorado Children's Code”, title 19, C.R.S., a defendant convicted of a crime which may be punished by imprisonment in a county jail may be sentenced to a correctional facility other than state correctional facilities if at the time of sentencing the defendant is sixteen years of age or older but under the age of twenty-one years, and if, in the opinion of the court, rehabilitation of the person convicted can best be obtained by such a sentence, and if it also appears to the court that the best interests of the person and of the public and the ends of justice would thereby be served.

(3) Repealed by Laws 1979, H.B.1499, § 88, eff. July 1, 1979.

(4) With regard to any juvenile sentenced to the department of corrections, the executive director shall consider the juvenile's safety and well-being in determining the facility in which to house the juvenile, the persons with whom the juvenile has contact, and the activities in which the juvenile engages.