Chapter 126

Section 1. The county commissioners shall be inspectors of the prisons in their counties. They shall twice in each year, at intervals of not exceeding eight months, themselves or by a committee of two of their members, visit all the prisons in their county, and fully examine into…

Section 10. A sentence to a house of correction shall be executed in any house of correction in the county.

Section 11. The county commissioners of the several counties and the penal institutions commissioner of Boston shall cause the rules established for the management of the house of correction and for the government of the prisoners therein to be strictly observed, shall examine al…

Section 12. The sheriff shall report to the superior court, at each session for criminal business, the number of prisoners sentenced to labor in houses of correction in the county employed, and also the number not employed with the reasons why they are not employed.

Section 16. The sheriff shall have custody and control of the jails in his county, and, except in Suffolk county, of the houses of correction therein, and of all prisoners committed thereto, and shall keep the same himself or by his deputy as jailer, superintendent or keeper, and…

Section 17. No sheriff shall receive any rent or emolument from the jailers and keepers of the houses of correction for the use and occupation of the dwelling houses provided for them by the county.

Section 18. The compensation of all officers, assistants and employees of jails and houses of correction shall be paid by their respective counties, and shall be in full compensation for all their services. They shall devote their entire time, not exceeding the time limited by se…

Section 18A. An employee in a jail or house of correction of a county who, while in the performance of duty, receives bodily injuries resulting from acts of violence of patients or prisoners in his custody, and who as result of such injury is entitled to benefits under chapter on…

Section 2. When the commissioners or any of them visit any of said prisons, the sheriff, superintendent, keeper or other officer in charge thereof shall admit them, when required, into every apartment of such prison, exhibit all books, precepts, documents, accounts and papers rel…

Section 21. The keeper of a jail or master of a house of correction to which a female has been committed shall forthwith transmit to the commissioner of correction such an abstract of the mittimus upon which she has been committed as he may require.

Section 22. If a prisoner dies in the jail or house of correction, the sheriff or keeper shall, except as provided in chapter one hundred and thirteen, deliver the body to his relatives or friends if they request it; otherwise, he shall bury it in the common burying ground, and t…

Section 23. Upon the expiration of the term of office of a sheriff, or upon his resignation or removal, he shall deliver to his successor all the prisoners in his custody, but he shall retain the keeping of the jails and houses of correction and of the prisoners therein under his…

Section 24. Upon the death of a sheriff, the jailer, superintendent or keeper appointed by him shall continue in office and retain the custody and control of the jail or house of correction and of all prisoners therein until a successor to the deceased sheriff has qualified, or u…

Section 25. The keeper of each jail and the superintendent of each house of correction shall, at the county's expense, cause it to be constantly kept in as cleanly and healthful a condition as may be. No permanent vault shall be used in any apartment. Every room occupied by a pri…

Section 26. If disease breaks out in a jail or other county prison, which, in the opinion of the inspectors of the prison, may endanger the lives or health of the prisoners to such a degree as to render their removal necessary, the inspectors may designate in writing a suitable p…

Section 27. If a jail or other county prison or any building near thereto is on fire, or if a bomb threat has been received, or there is reason to believe a bomb threat or similar threat exists, and the prisoners are exposed to danger thereby, the sheriff, jailer or other person …

Section 28. The county commissioners shall, except in Suffolk county, without extra charge or commission to themselves or to any other person, procure or cause to be procured all necessary supplies for the jails and houses of correction, to be purchased and provided under their d…

Section 29. The expense of keeping and maintaining convicts sentenced to imprisonment in the jail or house of correction, of the keeping of persons charged with or convicted of crime and committed for trial or sentence, and of prisoners committed on mesne process or execution, so…

Section 3. If it appears to the commissioners, from the report of their committee or otherwise, that any law relative to prisons has been violated or neglected in their county, they shall forthwith give notice thereof to the district attorney.

Section 30. Superintendents and keepers of jails and houses of correction authorized or directed to expend money in behalf of the county may have money advanced to them from the county treasury in such amounts as the county commissioners may approve, not exceeding the sum of thre…

Section 31. Every officer applying for such an advance shall certify in writing that the amount asked for is needed for immediate use, and, as specifically as may be, the purposes for which it is required. The certificate shall bear the approval of the county commissioners, and w…

Section 32. Every such officer shall within thirty days after the receipt of an advance file with the county treasurer a detailed statement, bearing the approval of the county commissioners, of the amounts expended subsequent to the preceding accounting, with vouchers therefor if…

Section 33. The keeper of the jail and the superintendent of the house of correction in Suffolk county shall, at the expense of the county, provide necessary fuel, bedding and clothing for all prisoners in their custody upon charge or conviction of crime against the commonwealth,…

Section 34. If the commissioners, or the mayor of Boston, direct specific rations or articles of food, soap, fuel or other necessaries to be furnished to the prisoners, the keeper or superintendent shall conform to such direction; and if he refuses or neglects to furnish the same…

Section 35. The county commissioners of any county may, subject to the approval of the commissioner of correction, purchase, take by eminent domain under chapter seventy-nine, or lease, in behalf of the county, a tract of land not exceeding five hundred acres in area for use as a…

Section 36. Said commissioners may erect on said land such temporary buildings of inexpensive construction as they consider necessary for the proper housing of prisoners and for other purposes, in no case, however, costing over three thousand dollars. If the land reclaimed, culti…

Section 37. On the request of said commissioners, the sheriff of the county shall remove to said farm such prisoners as in his opinion can advantageously be employed thereon in carrying out sections thirty-five and thirty-six, and on the order of the said commissioners the sherif…

Section 38. To meet the expense of acquiring land in fee under section thirty-five or for constructing buildings under section thirty-six, the county commissioners may borrow from time to time, upon the credit of the county, such sums as may be necessary, not exceeding in the agg…

Section 39. The county commissioners, at the time of authorizing each loan, shall provide for the payment thereof in accordance with the preceding section; and a sum sufficient to pay the interest as it accrues and to make such payments on the principal as may be required under s…

Section 4. Jails shall be used for the detention of persons charged with crime and committed for trial, committed to secure their attendance as witnesses upon the trial of criminal causes, committed pursuant to a sentence upon conviction of crime or for any cause authorized by la…

Section 40. The sheriff shall record, without limitation, the following data for each person committed to a jail or house of correction: (i) probation central file number; (ii) fingerprint-based state identification number, if available; (iii) race and ethnicity; (iv) offense-bas…

Section 5. If there are several jails in a county, the sheriff may cause the prisoners to be confined in any of them.

Section 6. If a prisoner escapes by reason of the insufficiency of the jail, whereby the sheriff is made liable to a party at whose suit the prisoner was committed, or to whose use any forfeiture was adjudged against him, the county shall reimburse the amount recovered by such pa…

Section 7. The jailers of the county shall, at the opening of each session of the superior court for criminal business, return to the court a list of all prisoners in their custody, specifying the causes for which and the persons by whom they were committed, and produce and exhib…

Section 8. The county commissioners in each county, except Dukes, shall at the expense of the county provide a house or houses of correction, suitably and efficiently ventilated, with convenient yards, workshops and other suitable accommodations adjoining or appurtenant thereto, …

Section 8A. The chief administrative officer of a house of correction shall be the superintendent. The superintendent, and any deputy superintendents, shall be appointed by the sheriff, or in the case of Suffolk county, by the penal commissioner of the city of Boston, and shall s…

Section 9. The yards shall be of sufficient extent for the convenient employment of the persons confined therein, and shall be enclosed by fences of sufficient height and strength to prevent escapes and to prevent all persons who are without from access to or communication with a…

Section 9A. Officers and employees of each county penal institution required to wear uniforms shall wear while on duty uniforms prescribed by the sheriff of the county, which shall be furnished at the expense of said county; provided, that expenditures for the same are authorized…