Penal Law § 205.15

Escape in the first degree · as in force on May 31, 2026

§ 205.15 Escape in the first degree.

A person is guilty of escape in the first degree when:

1. Having been charged with or convicted of a felony, he escapes from a detention facility; or

2. Having been arrested for, charged with or convicted of a class A or class B felony, he escapes from custody; or

3. Having been adjudicated a youthful offender, which finding was substituted for the conviction of a felony, he escapes from a detention facility.

Escape in the first degree is a class D felony.

Official sourcehttps://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/PEN/205.15

In plain English

A person commits first-degree escape by:

(1) escaping from a detention facility after being charged with or convicted of a felony;
(2) escaping from custody after being arrested for, charged with, or convicted of a class A or class B felony; or
(3) escaping from a detention facility after a youthful-offender finding replaced a felony conviction. ★

The offense is a class D felony.

Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.

In print

This provision appears in Volume 4 — The Court Clerk: Penal Law; Volume 1 — The Court Officer in Plain English; Volume 3 — The Court Officer: Penal Law; Volume 3 — Your Career: Penal Law in Plain English.