Code of Alabama
Ala. Code § 13A-10-31 (2026)
Escape in the First Degree.
✓ official Alabama Legislature (ALISON) text, current July 2026
(a) A person commits the crime of escape in the first degree if:
(1) He employs physical force, a threat of physical force, a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument in escaping or attempting to escape from custody; or
(2) Having been convicted of a felony, he escapes or attempts to escape from custody imposed pursuant to that conviction.
(b) Escape in the first degree is a Class B felony.
(Acts 1977, No. 607, p. 812, §4606; Acts 1979, No. 79-471, p. 862, §1; Acts 1980, No. 80-753, §2.)
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 38
cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1981–2024 · leading case: Webb v. State, 539 So. 2d 343 (Ala. Crim. App. 1988).
Webb v. State, 539 So. 2d 343 (Ala. Crim. App. 1988). “1985), this court held that a state inmate who fails to return from work release is guilty of the felony of escape in the first degree under § 13A-10-31, Code of Alabama (1975). However, a county inmate or a state inmate in county custody who fails to return from work release is…”
Ex Parte Thompson, 38 So. 3d 119 (Ala. Crim. App. 2009). “It is applicable to all escapes, including those from city or county jails or from city or county jail officials.”
Ringer v. State, 501 So. 2d 493 (Ala. Crim. App. 1986). “Ringer was convicted of escape in the first degree, proscribed by § 13A-10-31, Code of Alabama 1975, and was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment in the penitentiary.”
Pinkard v. State, 405 So. 2d 411 (Ala. Crim. App. 1981). “dictment Harold Edward Pinkard [appellant], whose name is unknown to the Grand Jury other than as stated, having been convicted of the offense of grand larceny, a felony, on November 27, 1979, for which he was sentenced to 6 years in the penitentiary, he escaped or attempted to…”
Ex Parte McReynolds, 662 So. 2d 886 (Ala. 1994). “We granted certiorari review primarily to determine whether McReynolds, at the time he supposedly committed the offense of escape, was in "custody" within the meaning of the escape statute, Ala.Code 1975, § 13A-10-31; the petition also raises an issue as to McReynolds's…”
Gholston v. State, 620 So. 2d 719 (Ala. 1993). “1986), the Court of Criminal Appeals noted: “Conviction of a felony is a necessary ingredient for the conviction of a person under § 13A-10-31(a)(2) [escape in the first degree].”
State v. Bethel, 55 So. 3d 377 (Ala. Crim. App. 2010). “Eric Lashawn Bethel was indicted for escape in the first degree, a violation of § 13A-10-31, Ala.Code 1975. During a hearing held for the purpose of accepting Bethel’s guilty plea to escape in the first degree as charged in the indictment, the circuit court dismissed the…”
Ringstaff v. State, 480 So. 2d 50 (Ala. Crim. App. 1985). “" Alabama Code 1975, § 13A-10-31(a)(1). "Custody", insofar as relevant to this appeal, is defined as "[a] restraint or detention by a public servant pursuant to a lawful arrest.”
Pardue v. State, 571 So. 2d 320 (Ala. Crim. App. 1989). “" Count one of the indictment alleged that Pardue "did escape or attempt to escape from a penal facility, in violation of Section 13A-10-31 of the Code of Alabama.”
Smitherman v. McCafferty, 622 So. 2d 322 (Ala. 1993). “" "Custody" is defined in the Commentary to § 13A-10-31 through -33 to include "any detention pursuant to a lawful arrest or court order.”
Grantham v. State, 540 So. 2d 775 (Ala. Crim. App. 1987). “"(b) Escape in the third degree is a Class C felony.”
State v. Parker, 740 So. 2d 421 (Ala. Crim. App. 1997). “" § 13A-10-31(a)(2), Code of Alabama 1975); Graves v.”
Ala. Code § 13A-10-31(a): 2 cases
United States v. David Scott Lewis Young, 336 F. App'x 954 (11th Cir. 2009).
Skinner v. State, 452 So. 2d 917 (Ala. Crim. App. 1984).
Ala. Code § 13A-10-31(a)(1): 2 cases
Ringstaff v. State, 480 So. 2d 50 (Ala. Crim. App. 1985). “" Alabama Code 1975, § 13A-10-31(a)(1). "Custody", insofar as relevant to this appeal, is defined as "[a] restraint or detention by a public servant pursuant to a lawful arrest.”
State v. Bethel, 55 So. 3d 377 (Ala. Crim. App. 2010). “Eric Lashawn Bethel was indicted for escape in the first degree, a violation of § 13A-10-31, Ala.Code 1975. During a hearing held for the purpose of accepting Bethel’s guilty plea to escape in the first degree as charged in the indictment, the circuit court dismissed the…”
Ala. Code § 13A-10-31(a)(2): 7 cases
Gholston v. State, 620 So. 2d 719 (Ala. 1993). “1986), the Court of Criminal Appeals noted: “Conviction of a felony is a necessary ingredient for the conviction of a person under § 13A-10-31(a)(2) [escape in the first degree].”
Ringer v. State, 501 So. 2d 493 (Ala. Crim. App. 1986). “Ringer was convicted of escape in the first degree, proscribed by § 13A-10-31, Code of Alabama 1975, and was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment in the penitentiary.”
State v. Parker, 740 So. 2d 421 (Ala. Crim. App. 1997). “" § 13A-10-31(a)(2), Code of Alabama 1975); Graves v.”
State v. Bethel, 55 So. 3d 377 (Ala. Crim. App. 2010). “Eric Lashawn Bethel was indicted for escape in the first degree, a violation of § 13A-10-31, Ala.Code 1975. During a hearing held for the purpose of accepting Bethel’s guilty plea to escape in the first degree as charged in the indictment, the circuit court dismissed the…”
Jones v. State, 530 So. 2d 871 (Ala. Crim. App. 1987).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the
Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and
treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.