Art. 572. Limitation of prosecution of noncapital offenses
A. Except as provided in Articles 571 and 571.1, no person shall be prosecuted, tried,
or punished for an offense not punishable by death or life imprisonment, unless the
prosecution is instituted within the following periods of time after the offense has been
committed:
(1) Six years, for a felony necessarily punishable by imprisonment at hard labor.
(2) Four years, for a felony not necessarily punishable by imprisonment at hard labor.
(3) Two years, for a misdemeanor punishable by a fine, or imprisonment, or both.
(4) Six months, for a misdemeanor punishable only by a fine or forfeiture.
B.(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 571.1 and Paragraph A of this
Article, prosecutions for any sex offense may be commenced beyond the time limitations set
forth in this Title if the identity of the offender is established after the expiration of such time
limitation through the use of a DNA profile or newly discovered photographic or video
evidence.
(2) A prosecution under the exception provided by this Paragraph shall be
commenced within three years from the date on which the identity of the suspect is
established by DNA testing or by the use of newly discovered photographic or video
evidence.
(3) For purposes of this Article, "DNA" means deoxyribonucleic acid, which is
located in cells and provides an individual's personal genetic blue print and which encodes
genetic information that is the basis of human heredity and forensic identification.
(4) This Paragraph shall have retroactive application to crimes committed prior to
June 20, 2003.
C. Upon expiration of the time period in which a prosecution may be instituted, any
bail bond applicable to that prosecution which bond has not been forfeited shall also expire,
and all obligations of that bail undertaking shall be extinguished as a matter of law.
Amended by Acts 1984, No. 926, §1; Acts 2001, No. 207, §1; Acts 2003, No. 487,
§2, eff. June 20, 2003; Acts 2003, No. 809, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2006, No. 123, §1, eff.
June 2, 2006; Acts 2024, 2nd Ex. Sess., No. 3, §1, eff. March 5, 2024.
NOTE: See Acts 2003, No. 487, §5, relative to application.