GA Code § 42-1-5 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 42 - Penal Institutions|Chapter 1 - General Provisions|Article 1 - Inmate Policies|§ 42-1-5. Use of Inmate for Private Gain

  As used in this Code section, the term:   "Custodian" means a warden, sheriff, jailer, deputy sheriff, police officer, or any other law enforcement officer having actual custody of an inmate.   "Inmate" means any person who is lawfully incarcerated in a penal institution.   "Penal institution" means any place of confinement for persons accused of or convicted of violating a law of this state or an ordinance of a political subdivision of this state.     It shall be unlawful for a custodian of an inmate of a penal institution to use such inmate or allow such inmate to be used for any purpose resulting in private gain to any individual.   Any person who violates subsection (b) of this Code section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.   This Code section shall not apply to:   Work on private property because of natural disasters;  (1.1) Work on private property as a form of victim compensation in accordance with Chapter 15A of Title 17;    Work or other programs or releases which have the prior approval of the board or commissioner of corrections;   Community service work programs;   Work-release programs; or   Work programs authorized by Article 6 of Chapter 5 of this title.       (Code 1981, §42-1-4, enacted by Ga. L. 1985, p. 1483, § 1; Ga. L. 1991, p. 94, § 42; Ga. L. 2003, p. 252, § 2; Ga. L. 2005, p. 1222, § 3/HB 58.)   Code Commission notes.   - Both Ga. L. 1985, p. 1259 and Ga. L. 1985, p. 1483 enacted a Code Section 42-1-4. Additionally, Ga. L. 1985, p. 1483 contained "board or commissioner of offender rehabilitation" in paragraph (2) of subsection (d). Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, this Code section has been renumbered Code Section 42-1-5 and "offender rehabilitation" changed to "corrections."   Editor's notes.   - Ga. L. 2005, p. 1222, § 1, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Working Against Recidivism Act.'"   Ga. L. 2005, p. 1222, § 2, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "The General Assembly finds and declares that:   "(1) Many persons sentenced to confinement for criminal offenses commit additional criminal offenses after release from confinement, and such recidivism is a serious danger to public safety and a major source of expense to the state;   "(2) Under the appropriate conditions and limitations, work programs of voluntary labor by inmates of state and county correctional institutions for privately owned profit-making employers to produce goods, services, or goods and services for sale to public or private purchasers provide substantial public benefits by:   "(A) Providing job experience and skills to participating inmates;   "(B) Allowing participating inmates to accumulate savings available for their use when released from the correctional institution;   "(C) Lowering recidivism rates;   "(D) Generating taxes from inmate income;   "(E) Reducing the cost of incarceration by enabling participating inmates to pay room and board; and   "(F) Providing participating inmates income to pay fines, restitution, and family support;   "(3) Appropriate conditions and limitations for voluntary labor by inmates for such work programs include but are not limited to:   "(A) Assurance that inmates' work is voluntary;   "(B) Payment of inmates at wages at a rate not less than that paid for work of a similar nature in the locality in which the work is to be performed;   "(C) Provision of federal and state governmental benefits to participating inmates comparable to governmental benefits provided for similarly situated private sector workers;   "(D) Selection of participating inmates with careful attention to security issues;   "(E) Appropriate supervision of inmates during travel or employment outside the correctional institution;   "(F) Assurance that inmate labor will not result in the displacement of employed workers; be applied in skills, crafts, or trades in which there is a surplus of available gainful labor in the locality; or impair existing contracts for services;   "(G) Consultations with local private employers that may be economically impacted; and   "(H) Consultations with local labor union organizations and other local employee groups, especially those who have an interest in the trade or skill to be performed by the inmates; and   "(4) Requirements for the federal Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program authorized by 18 U.S.C. Section 1761 and federal regulations are sufficient to ensure appropriate conditions and limitations in many areas of concern for programs of voluntary labor by inmates for privately owned profit-making employers to produce goods, services, or goods and services for sale to public and private purchasers."   JUDICIAL DECISIONS   Penal institution.    - Evidence was sufficient for a reasonable fact-finder to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the offense of riot in a penal institution because the state introduced evidence of the defendant's legal confinement, and the state's evidence regarding the prisoners housed at the county jail would have been sufficient for the jury to conclude that the jail constituted a penal institution within the meaning of O.C.G.A. § 16-10-56, and as defined in the jury charge, had the trial court not ruled on that issue as a matter of law. Paul v. State, 308 Ga. App. 275, 707 S.E.2d 171 (2011).    Cited in  Smith v. Deering, 880 F. Supp. 816 (S.D. Ga. 1994).   RESEARCH REFERENCES   Am. Jur. 2d.   - 60 Am. Jur. 2d, Penal and Correctional Institutions, § 141 et seq.