§ 642:6 — Escape

I. A person is guilty of an offense if such person escapes from official custody.
II. "Official custody" means arrest, custody in a penal institution, an institution for confinement of juvenile offenders or other confinement pursuant to an order of a court.
III. The offense is a class A felony if the actor employs force against any person or threatens any person with a deadly weapon to effect the escape, except that if the deadly weapon is a firearm, the actor shall be sentenced in accordance with RSA 651:2, II-g. The offense is a class B felony if the actor was on parole, subject to a bail order, was a prisoner at an adult or juvenile correction facility at the time, or had been released from any correctional institution pursuant to administrative home confinement or any treatment program or other place as directed by the correctional authority or sentencing court, or had a prior conviction of the crime of escape. If no physical force was used by the actor and no persons other than the actor sustained bodily injury as a result of the escape, the offense is a class A misdemeanor.
IV. If a person is convicted of the offense of escape under this section, the term of imprisonment authorized by RSA 651:2, II or RSA 651:6 shall be added to the portion of the term which remained unserved at the time of the commission of the offense.

Legislative History

1971, 518:1. 1975, 458:3, 4. 1990, 95:7. 2014, 170:2, eff. Jan. 1, 2015. 2016, 171:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2017.