The Colorado penalties for the crime of escape and aiding escape depend on the criminal offense for which the prisoner is in custody. Escape - or aiding escape - is generally a felony if the person was in custody for a felony, and a misdemeanor if the person was in custody for a misdemeanor offense. Penalties are generally more severe if the escape followed a criminal conviction than if the escape occurred before any conviction. Note that the jail or prison sentence for an escape usually runs consecutively with any other criminal sentence the defendant was currently serving.