A. Except as provided in subsection B, any person lawfully confined in jail or lawfully in the custody of any court, officer of the court, or of any law-enforcement officer for violation of his probation or parole or on a charge or conviction of a misdemeanor, who escapes, other than by force or violence or by setting fire to the jail, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.
B. Any person, lawfully confined in jail or lawfully in the custody of any court, officer of the court, or of any law-enforcement officer on a charge or conviction of a felony, who escapes, other than by force or violence or by setting fire to the jail, is guilty of a Class 6 felony.
Code 1950, § 18.1-290; 1960, c. 358; 1975, cc. 14, 15; 1985, c. 555; 2005, c. 573.