It shall be unlawful for a prisoner in a state, local or community correctional facility or in the custody of an employee thereof to:
1. Escape from a correctional facility or from any person in charge of such prisoner;
2. Willfully break, cut or damage any building, furniture, fixture or fastening of such facility or any part thereof for the purpose of escaping, aiding any other prisoner to escape therefrom or rendering such facility less secure as a place of confinement;
3. Make, procure, secrete or have in his possession any instrument, tool or other thing for the purpose of escaping from or aiding another to escape from a correctional facility or employee thereof;
4. Make, procure, secrete or have in his possession a knife, instrument, tool or other thing not authorized by the superintendent or sheriff which is capable of causing death or bodily injury;
5. Procure, sell, secrete or have in his possession any chemical compound which he has not lawfully received;
6. Procure, sell, secrete or have in his possession a controlled substance classified in Schedule III of the Drug Control Act (§ 54.1-3400 et seq.) or marijuana;
7. Introduce into a correctional facility or have in his possession firearms or ammunition for firearms;
8. Willfully burn or destroy by use of any explosive device or substance, in whole or in part, or cause to be so burned or destroyed, any personal property, within any correctional facility;
9. Willfully tamper with, damage, destroy, or disable any fire protection or fire suppression system, equipment, or sprinklers within any correctional facility; or
10. Conspire with another prisoner or other prisoners to commit any of the foregoing acts.
For violation of any of the provisions of this section, except subdivision 6, the prisoner shall be guilty of a Class 6 felony. For a violation of subdivision 6, he shall be guilty of a Class 5 felony. If the violation is of subdivision 1 of this section and the escapee is a felon, he shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of confinement of one year, which shall be served consecutively with any other sentence. The prisoner shall, upon conviction of escape, immediately commence to serve such escape sentence, and he shall not be eligible for parole during such period. Any prisoner sentenced to life imprisonment who escapes shall not be eligible for parole. No part of the time served for escape shall be credited for the purpose of parole toward the sentence or sentences, the service of which is interrupted for service of the escape sentence, nor shall it be credited for such purpose toward any other sentence.
Code 1950, § 53-291; 1966, c. 300; 1970, c. 648; 1973, c. 403; 1975, c. 588; 1977, c. 497; 1978, cc. 177, 361; 1982, c. 636; 1985, c. 555; 1988, c. 371; 2004, c. 461; 2006, c. 104; 2011, cc. 384, 410; 2014, cc. 674, 719.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
76
cases (
5 in the last 5 years), 1984–2023 · leading case:
Herron v. Commonwealth, 688 S.E.2d 901 (Va. Ct. App. 2010).
Herron v. Commonwealth, 688 S.E.2d 901 (Va. Ct. App. 2010).
· cites it 28× “To the extent the issue presented here involves the statutory construction of Code § 53.1-203, this Court reviews the trial court’s ruling de novo.”
Smoot v. Commonwealth, 559 S.E.2d 409 (Va. Ct. App. 2002).
· cites it 6× “Richard Anthony Smoot appeals his conviction for possession of marijuana while a prisoner, in violation of Code § 53.1-203. *411 Smoot alleges: (1) the Commonwealth violated the provisions of the agreed order of discovery and inspection by not timely disclosing letters written…”
Williams v. Commonwealth, 407 S.E.2d 319 (Va. Ct. App. 1991).
· cites it 16× “1 rather than Code § 53.1-203. He maintains that Code § 18.”
Larry Joe Dargan, Jr. v. Commonwealth, 500 S.E.2d 228 (Va. Ct. App. 1998).
· cites it 20× “Therefore, I would reverse the trial judge's ruling and remand this case for a new sentencing hearing before a jury on the conviction of possessing a weapon while an inmate in a correctional facility in violation of Code § 53.1-203. See Code § 19.2-295.1. See also Davis v.”
Charity v. Commonwealth, 643 S.E.2d 503 (Va. Ct. App. 2007).
· cites it 4× “” Therefore, in order to prove that a conspiracy existed in this case, the evidence must show that appellant formed an agreement and possessed the requisite intent to escape from the correctional facility in violation of Code § 53.”
Dodson v. Dir. of the Dep't of Corr., 355 S.E.2d 573 (Va. 1987).
· cites it 8× “Dodson, the petitioner, was convicted in the Circuit Court of Stafford County of (1) damaging the Stafford County *305 jail for the purpose of escaping or rendering the jail less secure as a place of confinement in violation of Code § 53.1-203(2), (2) possessing an instrument…”
Mabe v. Commonwealth, 417 S.E.2d 899 (Va. Ct. App. 1992).
· cites it 24× “Mabe contends that he was improperly convicted under Code § 53.1-203, which reads, in pertinent part: It shall be unlawful for a prisoner in a state, local or community correctional facility or in the custody of an employee thereof to: 1.”
Tracy Marice Penn v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 528 S.E.2d 179 (Va. Ct. App. 2000).
· cites it 28× “On that ground, he contends he should have been convicted only of the misdemeanor offense of unlawful possession of marijuana in violation of Code § 18.”
Simmons v. Commonwealth, 431 S.E.2d 335 (Va. Ct. App. 1993).
· cites it 10× “When defendant failed to return as scheduled, correction officials “secured” a “warrant for escape,” and he was subsequently apprehended and indicted for violating Code § 53.1-203, which provides, in pertinent part: It shall be unlawful for a prisoner in a state, local or…”
Vescuso v. Commonwealth, 360 S.E.2d 547 (Va. Ct. App. 1987).
· cites it 4× “On November 22, 1984, five inmates, including both Richard Paul Vescuso and Anthony Wayne Fox, escaped from Nottoway Correctional Center by cutting a hole in the fence. Vescuso and Fox were apprehended, returned to the institution, tried by a jury on May 2, 1985, and May 9,…”
Byers v. Commonwealth, 554 S.E.2d 714 (Va. Ct. App. 2001).
· cites it 2× “§ 13 (assimilating Virginia Code § 53.1-203(4)), which makes it a felony for a prisoner to "[m]ake, procure, secrete or have in his possession a knife, instrument, tool or other thing not authorized by the superintendent or sheriff which is capable of causing death or bodily…”
United States v. Broadnax, 688 F. Supp. 1080 (E.D. Va. 1988).
· cites it 8× “§ 13 , assimilating Va.Code Ann. § 53.1-203(5). Count IV Possession of marijuana by a prisoner, in violation of 18 U.”
— Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-203(1) — 3 cases
Simmons v. Commonwealth, 431 S.E.2d 335 (Va. Ct. App. 1993).
“When defendant failed to return as scheduled, correction officials “secured” a “warrant for escape,” and he was subsequently apprehended and indicted for violating Code § 53.1-203, which provides, in pertinent part: It shall be unlawful for a prisoner in a state, local or…”
Mabe v. Commonwealth, 417 S.E.2d 899 (Va. Ct. App. 1992).
“Mabe contends that he was improperly convicted under Code § 53.1-203, which reads, in pertinent part: It shall be unlawful for a prisoner in a state, local or community correctional facility or in the custody of an employee thereof to: 1.”
Tracy Marice Penn v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 528 S.E.2d 179 (Va. Ct. App. 2000).
“On that ground, he contends he should have been convicted only of the misdemeanor offense of unlawful possession of marijuana in violation of Code § 18.”
— Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-203(2) — 5 cases
Dodson v. Dir. of the Dep't of Corr., 355 S.E.2d 573 (Va. 1987).
“Dodson, the petitioner, was convicted in the Circuit Court of Stafford County of (1) damaging the Stafford County *305 jail for the purpose of escaping or rendering the jail less secure as a place of confinement in violation of Code § 53.1-203(2), (2) possessing an instrument…”
— Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-203(3) — 2 cases
Dodson v. Dir. of the Dep't of Corr., 355 S.E.2d 573 (Va. 1987).
“Dodson, the petitioner, was convicted in the Circuit Court of Stafford County of (1) damaging the Stafford County *305 jail for the purpose of escaping or rendering the jail less secure as a place of confinement in violation of Code § 53.1-203(2), (2) possessing an instrument…”
— Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-203(4) — 15 cases
Larry Joe Dargan, Jr. v. Commonwealth, 500 S.E.2d 228 (Va. Ct. App. 1998).
“Therefore, I would reverse the trial judge's ruling and remand this case for a new sentencing hearing before a jury on the conviction of possessing a weapon while an inmate in a correctional facility in violation of Code § 53.1-203. See Code § 19.2-295.1. See also Davis v.”
Byers v. Commonwealth, 554 S.E.2d 714 (Va. Ct. App. 2001).
“§ 13 (assimilating Virginia Code § 53.1-203(4)), which makes it a felony for a prisoner to "[m]ake, procure, secrete or have in his possession a knife, instrument, tool or other thing not authorized by the superintendent or sheriff which is capable of causing death or bodily…”
Dodson v. Dir. of the Dep't of Corr., 355 S.E.2d 573 (Va. 1987).
“Dodson, the petitioner, was convicted in the Circuit Court of Stafford County of (1) damaging the Stafford County *305 jail for the purpose of escaping or rendering the jail less secure as a place of confinement in violation of Code § 53.1-203(2), (2) possessing an instrument…”
— Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-203(5) — 6 cases
Herron v. Commonwealth, 688 S.E.2d 901 (Va. Ct. App. 2010).
“To the extent the issue presented here involves the statutory construction of Code § 53.1-203, this Court reviews the trial court’s ruling de novo.”
United States v. Broadnax, 688 F. Supp. 1080 (E.D. Va. 1988).
“§ 13 , assimilating Va.Code Ann. § 53.1-203(5). Count IV Possession of marijuana by a prisoner, in violation of 18 U.”
— Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-203(6) — 11 cases
Tracy Marice Penn v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 528 S.E.2d 179 (Va. Ct. App. 2000).
“On that ground, he contends he should have been convicted only of the misdemeanor offense of unlawful possession of marijuana in violation of Code § 18.”
United States v. Broadnax, 688 F. Supp. 1080 (E.D. Va. 1988).
“§ 13 , assimilating Va.Code Ann. § 53.1-203(5). Count IV Possession of marijuana by a prisoner, in violation of 18 U.”
— Va. Code Ann. § 53.1-203(9) — 3 cases
Williams v. Commonwealth, 407 S.E.2d 319 (Va. Ct. App. 1991).
“1 rather than Code § 53.1-203. He maintains that Code § 18.”
Dodson v. Dir. of the Dep't of Corr., 355 S.E.2d 573 (Va. 1987).
“Dodson, the petitioner, was convicted in the Circuit Court of Stafford County of (1) damaging the Stafford County *305 jail for the purpose of escaping or rendering the jail less secure as a place of confinement in violation of Code § 53.1-203(2), (2) possessing an instrument…”
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