Chapter 127

Section 1. As used in this chapter, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:— ''Behavioral health counseling'', a non-pharmacological intervention carried out by a qualified behavioral health professional in a therapeu…

Section 10. Annually, on or before August fifteenth, the sheriffs, county commissioners and the penal institutions commissioner of Boston, shall make a report to the commissioner of the salaries of prison officers, of the number and cost of support of prisoners, and of such other…

Section 111A. He may remove any person committed to a department for defective delinquents established at any institution under the department of correction under section one hundred and seventeen of chapter one hundred and twenty-three, from such department to a like department …

Section 113. The commissioner may remove from one jail or house of correction to another, or to any correctional institution of the commonwealth a prisoner convicted and sentenced by a United States court and thereafter transferred by the Attorney General of the United States to …

Section 115. The sheriff in any county, except Suffolk, may remove prisoners from one jail to another or from a jail to a house of correction or from a house of correction to a jail in his own county.

Section 116. A prisoner who is removed or returned under any provision of sections ninety-seven to one hundred and fifteen, inclusive, shall be held in the place of imprisonment to which he is so removed or returned under the terms of his original sentence, unless sooner discharg…

Section 117. Whenever the physician of any state correctional facility certifies that any prisoner held therein requires medical, dental or other similar professional treatment which cannot safely or properly be given in such state correctional facility or the hospital at the Mas…

Section 117A. Whenever the physician of any jail or house of correction certifies that any prisoner held therein requires medical, dental or other similar professional treatment which is not available in such jail or house of correction, the sheriff or, in the case of the house o…

Section 118. (a) Upon admission to a correctional facility, while awaiting trial or after sentencing, a female inmate shall be screened and assessed for pregnancy by a licensed health care professional; provided, however, that the inmate shall be informed of any necessary medical…

Section 119. Any prisoner placed in a hospital or medical facility under section one hundred and seventeen, one hundred and seventeen A or one hundred and eighteen shall, during his absence from prison or the jail or house of correction, be considered as in the custody of the off…

Section 119A. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:— ''Medical parole plan'', a comprehensive written medical and psychosocial care plan specific to a prisoner and including, but not limit…

Section 12. Any officer or employee in any correctional institution of the commonwealth who is unfaithful or incompetent, or uses intoxicating liquor to excess, shall be forthwith removed by the commissioner.

Section 120. Every order of removal of the commissioner shall be signed by him or his designee and shall be directed to the officer by whom it is to be executed. All mittimuses, processes and other official papers by which a prisoner is committed or held, or attested copies there…

Section 121. An officer authorized to serve criminal process may execute an order of removal or return issued under this chapter.

Section 123. The expense of removing a prisoner from one jail or house of correction to another shall be paid by the county from which he is removed. The expense of removing a prisoner to or from any of the correctional institutions of the commonwealth by order of the commissione…

Section 124. The expense of supporting a prisoner transferred from a correctional institution of the commonwealth to a jail or house of correction shall be paid by the commonwealth, if the prisoner was not originally sentenced from the county where such jail or house of correctio…

Section 125. The expense of supporting a prisoner transferred from a jail or house of correction in one county to another, removed from the Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Bridgewater to a house of correction, or sentenced to a jail or house of correction in a county othe…

Section 126. The expense of supporting a prisoner removed from a jail or house of correction to the Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Bridgewater shall be paid to the commonwealth by the county from which he is removed, and the amount thereof shall be determined by the comm…

Section 127. The governor, upon the written recommendation of the commissioner or the chairman of the parole board, may appoint any employee of the department of correction or the parole board, respectively, a special state police officer for a term of three years, unless sooner …

Section 128. Subject to other provisions of law, parole permits, in this chapter also referred to as permits to be at liberty, may be granted by the parole board to prisoners in state and county correctional institutions serving sentences or total aggregate sentences of sixty day…

Section 129B. The sentence of any prisoner in any correctional institution of the commonwealth or in any house of correction or jail, who was held in custody awaiting trial shall be reduced by the number of days spent by him in confinement prior to such sentence and while awaitin…

Section 129C. For the satisfactory conduct of a prisoner confined in a prison camp, the commissioner may grant, in addition to the deductions of sentence provided under section one hundred and twenty-nine, a further deduction of sentence of not more than two and one half days for…

Section 129D. Prisoners are eligible to earn deductions from sentences and completion credits, collectively known as good conduct deductions, for participation in and completion of programs and activities as follows: (a) For the satisfactory conduct of a prisoner while confined a…

Section 13. The jailer, superintendent or keeper of a jail or house of correction, except in Suffolk county, may be removed by the superior court for neglect of duty or for wasteful or extravagant use of supplies, upon complaint of the county commissioners, after notice to the sh…

Section 130. No prisoner shall be granted a parole permit merely as a reward for good conduct. Permits shall be granted only if the board is of the opinion, after consideration of a risk and needs assessment, that there is a reasonable probability that, if the prisoner is release…

Section 130A. The parole board may, by a majority vote of all of the members, issue to a parolee under its supervision a certificate of termination of sentence, provided that in the judgment of the board such termination of sentence shall be in the public interest; and provided, …

Section 130B. (a) As used in this section, the following terms shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:— ''Parole plan'', a plan, approved by the parole board, that includes the general and special conditions of parole and requirements fo…

Section 130C. (a) For the satisfactory conduct of a parolee under the supervision of the parole board who is serving a sentence to state prison, the chairman of the parole board or the chairman's designee may grant compliance credits of up to a maximum monthly total of 15 days; p…

Section 131. The parole board shall, in releasing a prisoner on parole, specify in writing the terms and conditions of his parole, and a copy of such terms and conditions shall be given to the parolee. A violation of such terms and conditions shall render the parolee liable to ar…

Section 131A. Not less than twenty-four hours prior to the effective date of any parole permit the parole board shall notify in writing the department of state police and the police department in the city or town to which the parolee will return of such parole, specifying the ter…

Section 133. Parole permits may be granted by the parole board to prisoners subject to its jurisdiction at such time as the board in each case may determine; provided, however, that no prisoner sentenced to the state prison shall be eligible for such permit until such prisoner sh…

Section 133A. Every prisoner who is serving a sentence for life in a correctional institution of the commonwealth, except prisoners confined to the hospital at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Bridgewater, except prisoners serving a life sentence for murder in the firs…

Section 133B. The parole board shall, within 60 days before the expiration of two-thirds of the maximum sentence of a prisoner sentenced under section 25 of chapter 279, and thereafter at least once in each ensuing 2–year period, consider carefully and thoroughly the merits of re…

Section 133C. The family members of a deceased victim may represent the victim at any parole hearing for a prisoner serving a sentence for a crime which resulted in the death of such victim or for a crime for which a prisoner is serving a sentence for life in a correctional insti…

Section 133D. (a) A person upon whom a sentence of community parole supervision for life has been imposed under section 45 of chapter 265 shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the parole board for the term of such sentence. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person…

Section 133E. Victims, and parents or legal guardians of minor victims, of a violent crime or a sex offense for which a sentence was imposed, who have been certified by the department of criminal justice information services in accordance with section 172 of chapter 6 and section…

Section 134. (a) In the case of an inmate committed to a correctional institution of the commonwealth, no parole permit shall be granted by the parole board until the inmate has been seen by at least three members of said board, except when the chairman has designated three membe…

Section 135. The commissioner or the jailer, superintendent or keeper of a jail or house of correction shall furnish to the parole board all information in his possession relating to any prisoner whose case is under consideration. As each prisoner is received in the correctional …

Section 136. No application for release on parole of a prisoner made by him or on his behalf shall be entertained by the parole board, but such a release of a prisoner by said board shall be solely on its own initiative. In every case where a prisoner is serving a sentence for a …

Section 14. The sheriffs of the several counties and the penal institutions commissioner of Boston may remove any officer appointed by them, respectively, to any position of trust or authority in a jail or house of correction who is known to use intoxicating liquor to excess.

Section 142. Whenever, in the opinion of the physician of any prison or other place of confinement in which is imprisoned a woman who is about to give birth to a child during the term of her imprisonment, the best interests of the woman or of her unborn child require that she be …

Section 143. The county commissioners, or, in Boston, the penal institutions commissioner, subject to the approval of a justice of the court which imposed the sentence, after six months from the time of sentence, may discharge a person sentenced to the house of correction, upon a…

Section 144. A prisoner confined in a prison or place of confinement for non-payment of a fine or a fine and expenses shall be given a credit of $90 on such fine or fine and expenses for each day during which he shall be so confined, and shall be discharged at such time as the sa…

Section 145. (a) A court shall not commit a person to a correctional facility solely for non-payment of money owed if such person has established, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the person is unable to pay the fine without causing substantial financial hardship to the p…

Section 146. If a poor prisoner has been confined in a jail or house of correction for one month under one or more sentences for fine or fine and expenses only, the jailer, superintendent or keeper shall make a report thereof, in Suffolk county to the municipal court of the city …

Section 148. The parole board may revoke a permit to be at liberty at any time prior to its expiration.

Section 149. If a permit to be at liberty has been revoked, the parole board may order the arrest of the holder of such permit by any officer qualified to serve civil or criminal process in any county, and order the return of such holder to the prison or jail to which he was orig…

Section 149A. If a parole officer believes that a parolee has lapsed or is about to lapse into criminal ways or has associated or is about to associate with criminal company or that he has violated the conditions of his parole, the parole officer may, with the consent of a parole…

Section 150. A prisoner whose term expires on Saturday, Sunday or on a legal holiday shall be discharged on the preceding day.