UCMJ Article 128a: Maiming

A service member who deliberately leaves another person permanently scarred, blinded, or missing the use of a limb has done something the military treats as far graver than an ordinary fight. That conduct is addressed by Article 128a of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the punitive article on maiming. It separates the rare cases of lasting, body-altering injury from the much larger category of assault, and it carries penalties that reflect the irreversible harm involved.

Maiming was renumbered as Article 128a (10 U.S.C. 928a) when the Military Justice Act of 2016 took effect on January 1, 2019. Older materials sometimes still label the offense “Article 124.” Under the current code, Article 124 covers frauds against the United States, while maiming sits at 128a, immediately after the general assault article. The placement is deliberate: maiming is the most serious form of injury short of homicide in the assault family.

What the offense covers

The statute defines maiming by the kind of injury inflicted rather than the weapon used. A person commits maiming when, with intent to injure, disfigure, or disable, they inflict an injury that does any one of the following:

  • Seriously disfigures the body by any mutilation of it.
  • Destroys or disables any member or organ of the body.
  • Seriously diminishes the victim’s physical vigor by injuring a member or organ.

Examples that have historically fit the offense include putting out an eye, severing or permanently disabling a limb, destroying hearing, knocking out or breaking teeth in a way that disfigures, and inflicting deep facial wounds that leave permanent scarring. The injury does not have to be inflicted directly by hand. Acts such as administering a harmful substance can support the charge if the resulting injury meets the statutory standard.

What the government must prove

To obtain a conviction at court-martial, the prosecution must establish each element beyond a reasonable doubt:

  • That the accused inflicted a certain injury upon a certain person.
  • That the injury seriously disfigured the person, destroyed or disabled a member or organ, or seriously diminished the person’s physical vigor by injury to a member or organ.
  • That the accused inflicted the injury with an intent to cause some injury to a person.

A point that often surprises observers is the intent standard. The government need not prove that the accused specifically intended to maim or to cause the precise permanent injury that resulted. It is enough that the accused intended to inflict some injury and that maiming was the actual consequence. This is sometimes described as a general intent to injure paired with a serious, lasting result.

Maximum punishment

The maximum punishment authorized for maiming is a dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 20 years. For offenses committed on or after December 27, 2023, sentencing at a general court-martial is decided by the military judge under the sentencing framework added by the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022, rather than by panel members, although the statutory and Manual maximums continue to define the ceiling. The penalty is among the most severe in the assault chapter, reflecting that the harm cannot be undone.

Possible defenses

Defenses depend entirely on the facts, but commonly litigated theories include:

  • Self-defense or defense of another, where the force used was legally justified and proportional to a threat of harm.
  • Accident, where the injury resulted from a lawful act done with due care and without the intent to injure.
  • Lack of the required injury, where the harm, though painful, was not a serious disfigurement, destruction, or disablement and instead supports a lesser assault charge.
  • Lack of intent to injure, where the act was unintentional and no general intent to cause injury can be shown.

Distinctions from related offenses

The clearest line is between maiming and assault under Article 128. Aggravated assault can be charged when serious bodily harm is inflicted or a dangerous weapon is used, but maiming requires the additional element of an injury that is permanent or seriously disabling in the statutory sense. Where the harm fully heals, the facts point toward assault rather than maiming. Where death results, the case moves into the homicide articles, Article 118 (murder) or Article 119 (manslaughter). An incomplete effort to inflict such an injury may be charged as an attempt under Article 80.

Frequently asked questions

Does maiming require intent to cause the permanent injury?
No. The government must prove an intent to inflict some injury, not a specific intent to disfigure or disable. The permanent character of the result is what elevates the conduct to maiming, even if the precise injury was greater than intended.

How is a permanent injury established?
Through evidence, often medical testimony, showing that the disfigurement, loss of a member or organ, or reduction in physical vigor is lasting. Injuries that fully heal without residual impairment generally do not meet the standard.

Is maiming different from aggravated assault?
Yes. Both can involve serious harm, but maiming demands proof of a disfiguring, destroying, or disabling injury. Aggravated assault under Article 128 reaches serious bodily injury or use of a dangerous weapon without that permanence requirement.

Can maiming be charged when the victim is a civilian?
Yes. The article reaches any person injured by someone subject to the code, whether the victim is a service member, a civilian, or a person in military custody, so long as the conduct is wrongful under military law.

What is the maximum confinement for maiming?
Twenty years, along with a dishonorable discharge and total forfeiture of pay and allowances.

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.

Sources

  • 10 U.S.C. 928a, Article 128a (Maiming): https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/928a
  • 10 U.S.C. 928a via the U.S. House Office of the Law Revision Counsel: https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-prelim-title10-section928a
  • Manual for Courts-Martial, United States (2024 edition), Part IV: https://jsc.defense.gov/Portals/99/2024%20MCM%20files/MCM%20(2024%20ed)%20(20240102)%20(adjusted%20bookmarks).pdf
  • Military Attorney Joseph L. Jordan, Articles of the UCMJ

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