UCMJ Article 96: Release of prisoner without authority; drinking with prisoner
A prisoner is anyone who is in confinement, custody, or under sentence of a court martial. The release of the prisoner can only occur if the removal of restraints was conducted by the accused, not the prisoner. Normally, the lowest authority permitted to order the release of a prisoner is that of the commander who convened the prisoner’s court martial or the officer exercising general court martial jurisdiction over the prisoner.
