A woman who had her husband killed in 1992 for the insurance money was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in federal prison.

In 1990, Karen K. Coleman asked a friend who was in a Missouri prison to help her kill her husband, Danny Coleman, 38. That man, Larry G. Nolan, recruited a former Mehlville firefighter, James Kornhardt, who enlisted his friend, Steven Mueller, and an unidentified other man, prosecutors have said.

The men killed Danny Coleman in a house in the 7800 block of Michigan Avenue in St. Louis on Oct. 22, 1992, then took the body to an isolated Franklin County field, where they set it and Coleman's truck on fire. They were paid from Coleman's insurance proceeds.

Coleman pleaded guilty to conspiracy and murder-for-hire in June and testified at the trial of Kornhardt and Mueller later that month. Both men were convicted and are scheduled to be sentenced next month. They face life in prison for the crimes.

At the sentencing hearing Tuesday, Coleman's public defender, Kevin Curran, asked U.S. District Judge Charles Shaw to keep in mind that while it took a while, Coleman pleaded guilty and cooperated because "there came a point when she wanted to do the right thing."

Coleman repeatedly apologized in a letter that Curran read in court, and wrote that she is a alcoholic and drug addict. "Now that I'm sober, things look different."

One of Coleman's relatives shook his head and looked back knowingly at the federal agents who investigated the case as Coleman's letter was read.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Dittmeier pointed out that Coleman committed a "horrible, horrible" crime for money, and that her cooperation had already been taken into consideration when crafting her plea agreement.

Shaw told Coleman that while he understood her comments, he has a tough time with people who hurt others. "It's something that just can't be rectified," he said, before sentencing Coleman to 20 years in prison.