10 U.S.C. § 855
Section 855 · Art. 55. Cruel and unusual punishments prohibited
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 84 court decisions — leading case United States v. Ohrt (1989)
Most recently applied in United States v. Briggs (December 2020)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Punishment by flogging, or by branding, marking, or tattooing on the body, or any other cruel or unusual punishment, may not be adjudged by any court-martial or inflicted upon any person subject to this chapter. The use of irons, single or double, except for the purpose of safe custody, is prohibited.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
The word “may” is substituted for the word “shall”.
Cross References
Article to be explained, see section 937 of this title.
Constitutional limitation, see Const. Amend. 8.