UCMJ Article 107a: Parole Violation

A service member who earns parole from military confinement leaves the disciplinary barracks under a written promise to obey specific conditions. Breaking that promise is itself a criminal offense. Article 107a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice punishes a prisoner who, after being released on parole, violates the conditions of that release. The provision exists because parole rests on trust: confinement is shortened in exchange for compliance, and disregarding the agreed terms defeats the purpose of the bargain.

Article 107a is a relatively recent fixture of the punitive articles. The conduct it covers was previously charged as an enumerated offense under the catch-all general article, Article 134. The Military Justice Act of 2016, effective January 1, 2019, relocated parole violation into its own standalone article and assigned it the number 107a, grouping it near the false-statement offenses of Article 107.

The numbered elements

The government must prove four elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

  1. That the accused was a prisoner as the result of a court-martial conviction or other criminal proceeding.
  2. That the accused was on parole.
  3. That certain conditions of parole limited the accused’s conduct.
  4. That the accused violated one or more of those conditions by doing an act, or failing to do an act, that the conditions prohibited or required.

A parolee is a prisoner who has agreed to a parole plan, meaning a written or oral agreement made before release to do or refrain from doing certain things. Because the offense begins with prisoner status, Article 107a does not reach a service member who was never confined as the result of a criminal proceeding.

What the government must prove

The prosecution must establish that lawful parole was actually in effect, that defined conditions attached to it, and that the accused breached one of them while still bound. Proof of the parole plan typically comes from the parole agreement and the records of the confinement facility or releasing authority. The breach can be an affirmative act the conditions forbade, such as leaving an authorized area, or an omission the conditions required, such as a missed report. The conduct must have occurred while parole remained active and before the sentence to confinement was fully served or otherwise terminated.

Typical conditions imposed in a parole plan include reporting to a designated parole officer or command on a set schedule, remaining within authorized geographic limits, observing a curfew, maintaining employment or another approved activity, and refraining from further misconduct. A violation can take the form of failing to report as required, traveling outside the authorized area without permission, ignoring a supervision requirement, or committing a separate offense while under supervision. The offense reaches both significant breaches and technical ones, so long as the violated condition was lawful and the accused was bound by it at the time.

Maximum punishment

The maximum punishment for a parole violation under Article 107a is a bad-conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for six months. A dishonorable discharge is not authorized for this offense. For offenses committed on or after December 27, 2023, sentencing for non-capital offenses tried by general or special court-martial is determined by the military judge under the segmented sentencing rules adopted in that reform, which place parole violation in the lowest confinement tier.

Defenses

Several defenses may apply depending on the facts. If parole had already ended, because the sentence was completed or formally terminated, no condition remained to violate. If a particular condition was never lawfully imposed or fell outside the releasing authority’s power, breach of that condition is not an offense. Lack of knowledge of a specific condition can defeat the breach element, because a parolee cannot be held to a term that was never communicated. Mistake or accident, where the deviation was genuinely unintentional, may also negate the wrongful character of the conduct.

Distinctions from related offenses

Parole violation is distinct from escape from confinement. Escape involves unlawfully departing from custody, while parole violation presupposes a lawful release and punishes the breach of conditions afterward. The two arise in different postures: one defeats confinement itself, the other defeats the supervised liberty that replaced confinement. A parole violation is also separate from any new offense committed while on parole; conduct that independently violates the UCMJ may be charged on its own terms in addition to the parole breach. Finally, administrative revocation of parole, which returns the prisoner to confinement, is a corrections action and is separate from prosecution under Article 107a.

Frequently asked questions

Does a parole violation require committing a new crime? No. Any breach of a lawful parole condition can support the charge, including technical breaches such as failing to report or leaving an authorized area. A separate criminal act is not required.

Who must the accused have been to be charged? The accused must have been a prisoner on parole following a court-martial conviction or other criminal proceeding. A person who was never confined as a result of such a proceeding cannot commit this offense.

What is the maximum confinement? Confinement is capped at six months, accompanied by a possible bad-conduct discharge and forfeiture of all pay and allowances.

Can parole conditions be challenged? A condition that was unlawful or imposed without authority may be challenged. Lawfully imposed conditions, however, remain binding and cannot simply be ignored.

Does the offense apply outside the United States? Yes. A service member on parole remains subject to the conditions of release wherever stationed, and a breach abroad can be charged.

Sources

10 U.S.C. § 907a (Article 107a, Parole violation): https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/907a

Manual for Courts-Martial, United States, Part IV (Punitive Articles): https://jsc.defense.gov/Military-Law/Current-Publications-and-Updates/

Military Attorney Joseph L. Jordan, Articles of the UCMJ

This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It describes military law and procedure of public record, does not address any individual case, and does not create an attorney-client relationship.

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