10 U.S.C. § 858: Art. 58. Execution of…

Summary

A person sentenced to prison by a court-martial or other military tribunal must be confined where the Secretary says they should be. That can be a military jail or any U.S. prison the government controls or is allowed to use. The fact that the sentence also includes a discharge or dismissal, or that a discharge has not been carried out, does not stop the confinement from being enforced. If the person is held in a civilian prison not run by the military, they must follow the same rules and receive the same treatment as other prisoners held there by U.S., state, or local courts. If a sentence does not say "hard labor," the people in charge can still order hard labor as part of the punishment.

Title 10, §858

Armed Forces, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Under such instructions as the Secretary concerned may prescribe, a sentence of confinement adjudged by a court-martial or other military tribunal, whether or not the sentence includes discharge or dismissal, and whether or not the discharge or dismissal has been executed, may be carried into execution by confinement in any place of confinement under the control of any of the armed forces or in any penal or correctional institution under the control of the United States, or which the United States may be allowed to use. Persons so confined in a penal or correctional institution not under the control of one of the armed forces are subject to the same discipline and treatment as persons confined or committed by the courts of the United States or of the State, District of Columbia, or place in which the institution is situated.

(b)The omission of the words “hard labor” from any sentence of a court-martial adjudging confinement does not deprive the authority executing that sentence of the power to require hard labor as a part of the punishment.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised sectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 858(a)858(b)50:639(a).50:639(b).May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 1 (Art. 58), 64 Stat. 126. In subsection (a), the words “Secretary concerned” are substituted for the words “Department concerned”, since the “Department” as an entity, cannot issue instructions. The word “are” is substituted for the words “shall be”. The words “of Columbia” are inserted after “District” for clarity. In subsection (b), the word “from” is substituted for the word “in”. The words “does not deprive” are substituted for the words “shall not be construed as depriving”.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2006—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 109–163 struck out “Territory,” after “State,”.

§858 Art. 58. Execution of Confinement