UCMJ Article 107a: Parole Violation

Article 107a makes it a court-martial offense for a person released on parole from confinement after a conviction to violate the conditions of that parole. The maximum is a bad-conduct discharge, confinement for 6 months, and forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 6 months. “Parole” here is the conditional release of a convicted prisoner, not a sentinel’s password.

A paroled prisoner who breaks the conditions

Under 10 U.S.C. § 907a, the offense is committed by a person subject to the UCMJ who, “having been a prisoner as the result of a court-martial conviction or other criminal proceeding, is on parole with conditions,” and “who violates the conditions of parole.”

The Manual for Courts-Martial (2024 ed.), Part IV, ¶ 42.b, lists four elements:

1. The accused was a prisoner as the result of a court-martial conviction or other criminal proceeding.
2. The accused was on parole.
3. There were conditions of parole the parolee was bound to obey.
4. The accused violated those conditions by doing an act or failing to do one.

The article was added by the Military Justice Act of 2016 (Pub. L. 114-328, § 5420).

Who is a prisoner, and what parole is

“Prisoner” here “refers only to those in confinement resulting from conviction at a court-martial or other criminal proceeding” (¶ 42.c(1)). A person held in pretrial confinement is not a “prisoner” for this article.

“Parole” is defined as “word of honor.” The prisoner agrees, before release, to a parole plan and to conditions of parole (¶ 42.c(2)):

• A parole plan is a written or oral agreement to do or refrain from certain acts, and may include a residence requirement (where and with whom the parolee will live) and a requirement of guaranteed employment.
• Conditions of parole include the plan and other reasonable conditions, such as paying restitution, beginning or continuing alcohol or drug treatment, or paying a fine ordered as part of the court-martial sentence.

Because the conditions define the offense, the specific written or oral terms the parolee agreed to are central evidence. For example, missing a required treatment session or failing to pay ordered restitution would be a violation by omission.

6 months and a bad-conduct discharge as a new offense

Under ¶ 42.d, the maximum is a bad-conduct discharge, confinement for 6 months, and forfeiture of two-thirds pay per month for 6 months. That is the punishment for the violation itself as a court-martial offense.

A different “parole,” and escape

The word “parole” also appears in Article 101, where it means a word used as a check on the countersign; the two articles are unrelated. Escaping from post-trial confinement, rather than violating release conditions, is Article 87a, with a 5-year maximum.

Sources

• 10 U.S.C. § 907a, Article 107a, Parole violation (Cornell LII)
• Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 ed.), Part IV, ¶ 42

General information about military law, not legal advice for any individual case.