10 U.S.C. § 874
Section 874 · Art. 74. Remission and suspension
Amended 3 times on record
Applied in 46 court decisions — leading case United States v. Healy (1988)
Most recently applied in 105 F. Supp. 3d 30 - Knighten v. United States Parole Commission (May 2015)
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.
(a) The Secretary concerned and, when designated by him, any Under Secretary, Assistant Secretary, Judge Advocate General, or commanding officer may remit or suspend any part or amount of the unexecuted part of any sentence, including all uncollected forfeitures other than a sentence approved by the President. However, in the case of a sentence of confinement for life without eligibility for parole that is adjudged for an offense committed after October 29, 2000, after the sentence is ordered executed, the authority of the Secretary concerned under the preceding sentence (1) may not be delegated, and (2) may be exercised only after the service of a period of confinement of not less than 20 years.
(b) The Secretary concerned may, for good cause, substitute an administrative form of discharge for a discharge or dismissal executed in accordance with the sentence of a court-martial.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
874(b) 50:661(a).50:661(b). May 5, 1950, ch. 169, § 1 (Art. 74), 64 Stat. 132. In subsections (a) and (b), the words “Secretary concerned” are substituted for the words “Secretary of the Department”.
Amendments
2001—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 107–107 inserted “that is adjudged for an offense committed after October 29, 2000” after “a sentence of confinement for life without eligibility for parole”.
2000—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 106–398 inserted at end “However, in the case of a sentence of confinement for life without eligibility for parole, after the sentence is ordered executed, the authority of the Secretary concerned under the preceding sentence (1) may not be delegated, and (2) may be exercised only after the service of a period of confinement of not less than 20 years.”
Effective Date of 2000 Amendment
Pub. L. 106–398, §1 [[div. A], title V, §553(b)], Oct. 30, 2000, 114 Stat. 1654, 1654A–125, provided that: “The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall not apply with respect to a sentence of confinement for life without eligibility for parole that is adjudged for an offense committed before the date of the enactment of this Act [Oct. 30, 2000].”