As Amended
SEC. 97-9-49. Escape of prisoners; penalties for convicts in jail and persons under arrest or custody; wilful failure to return to jail after being entrusted to leave.
(1) Whoever escapes or attempts by force or violence to escape from any jail in which he is confined, or from any custody under or by virtue of any process issued under the laws of the state of Mississippi by any court or judge, or from the custody of a sheriff or other peace officer pursuant to lawful arrest, shall, upon conviction, if the confinement or custody is by virtue of an arrest on a charge of felony, or conviction of a felony, be punished by imprisonment in the penitentiary not exceeding five (5) years to commence at the expiration of his former sentence, or, if the confinement or custody is by virtue of an arrest of or charge for or conviction of a misdemeanor, be punished by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one (1) year to commence at the expiration of the sentence which the court has imposed or which may be imposed for the crime for which he is charged.
(2) Anyone confined in any jail who is entrusted by any authorized person to leave the jail for any purpose and who wilfully fails to return to the jail within the stipulated time, or after the accomplishment of the purpose for which he was entrusted to leave, shall be considered an escapee and may be punished by the addition of not exceeding six (6) months to his original sentence.
SOURCES: Codes, Hutchinson's 1848, ch. 64, art. 12, Title 5(22); 1857, ch. 64, art. 95; 1871, Sec. 2560; 1880, Sec. 2800; 1892, Sec. 1077; 1906, Sec. 1157; Hemingway's 1917, Sec. 884; 1930, Sec. 910; 1942, Sec. 2139; Laws, 1972, ch. 323, Sec. 1; 1978, ch. 414, Sec. 2; 1983, ch. 387, Sec. 1, eff from and after July 1, 1983.