10 USC § 896 - Art. 96. Release of prisoner without authority; drinking with prisoner

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t10/s896"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_legal_evidence"
title: "10 USC § 896 - Art. 96. Release of prisoner without authority; drinking with prisoner"
title_number: 10
title_name: "ARMED FORCES"
section_number: "896"
section_name: "Art. 96. Release of prisoner without authority; drinking with prisoner"
chapter_number: 47
chapter_name: "UNIFORM CODE OF MILITARY JUSTICE"
subchapter_number: "X"
subchapter_name: "PUNITIVE ARTICLES"
part_number: "II"
part_name: "PERSONNEL"
positive_law: true
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 69; Pub. L. 114–328, div. E, title LX, § 5413, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2944.)"
---


# § 896. Art. 96. Release of prisoner without authority; drinking with prisoner

**(a)** **Release of Prisoner Without Authority.—** Any person subject to this chapter—

shall be punished as a court-martial may direct, whether or not the prisoner was committed in strict compliance with the law.

**(1)** who, without authority to do so, releases a prisoner; or

**(2)** who, through neglect or design, allows a prisoner to escape;

**(b)** **Drinking With Prisoner.—** Any person subject to this chapter who unlawfully drinks any alcoholic beverage with a prisoner shall be punished as a court-martial may direct.

---

**Source Credit**: (Aug. 10, 1956, ch. 1041, 70A Stat. 69; Pub. L. 114–328, div. E, title LX, § 5413, Dec. 23, 2016, 130 Stat. 2944.)

| Revised section | Source (U.S. Code) | Source (Statutes at Large) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 896 | 50:690. | May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 1 (Art. 96), 64 Stat. 136. |

The words “whether or not the prisoner was committed in strict compliance with law” are substituted for the word “duly”, to reflect the long standing construction expressed in the Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, 1951, par. 175a.

## Editorial Notes

### Amendments

2016— amended section generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “Any person subject to this chapter who, without proper authority, releases any prisoner committed to his charge, or who through neglect or design suffers any such prisoner to escape, shall be punished as a court-martial may direct, whether or not the prisoner was committed in strict compliance with law.”

## Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

### Effective Date of 2016 Amendment

Amendment by  effective on , as designated by the President, with implementing regulations and provisions relating to applicability to various situations, see  and Ex. Ord. No. 13825, set out as notes under .