§ 42-5-58 — Prohibition against corporal punishment; use of handcuffs, leg chains, and other restraints; permissible punishment generally

(a) Whipping of inmates and all forms of corporal punishment shall be prohibited. All shackles, manacles, picks, leg irons, and chains shall be barred from use as punishment by any penal institution operated under authority of the board. In transferring violent or potentially dangerous inmates within an institution or between facilities, handcuffs, leg chains, waist chains, and waist belts may be utilized. Handcuffs, leg chains, waist chains, and waist belts may also be used in securing violent or potentially dangerous inmates within an institution and in public and private areas such as hospitals and clinics; but in no event may handcuffs, leg chains, waist chains, and waist belts be used as punishment; provided, however, that if the accused becomes violent in the courtroom, restraints may be used. (b) The department shall restrict punishment for an infraction of correctional rules and regulations to isolation and restricted diet or to uniform standard humane punishment which the department may deem necessary for the control of inmates.

Legislative History

Amended by 2023 Ga. Laws 353,§ 5, eff. 7/1/2023.