Legal Definitions - utlesse

Utlesse is a historical legal term that referred specifically to a felon's escape from prison. It described the act of a convicted criminal unlawfully breaking free from incarceration.

Utlesse

Historically, utlesse referred specifically to the act of a convicted criminal, or felon, breaking out of a prison or other place of lawful confinement.

Here are some examples illustrating utlesse:

• A notorious highwayman, having been found guilty of multiple robberies and sentenced to imprisonment, meticulously plans his escape. One moonless night, he manages to pick the lock of his cell, navigate through the prison's labyrinthine corridors, and then scale the outer wall using a makeshift rope. This act of a convicted felon breaking free from the prison constitutes an utlesse.
• During a prisoner transfer between a local jail and a high-security state penitentiary, a man convicted of grand larceny seizes an opportunity. While the transport vehicle is temporarily stopped due to a road blockage, he overpowers a guard, jumps out of the vehicle, and disappears into the surrounding wilderness. This escape by a convicted felon from lawful custody, even if not from a static prison building, would historically be considered an utlesse.
• A political dissident, imprisoned in a fortified tower after being convicted of sedition, conspires with a sympathetic guard. The guard provides him with a disguise and helps him slip past the other sentries during a shift change, allowing him to walk out undetected. This successful evasion of confinement by a convicted individual from their place of imprisonment exemplifies an utlesse.