§ 8 — Prison books; contents; accessibility

Section 8. Each jailer and superintendent of a house of correction shall have a prison book, in which he shall keep an account of the value of the labor of the prisoners, of the salaries of officers and of articles furnished for the support of the prisoners, the quantity of such articles, of whom bought and the price paid, classified as follows: cost of provisions, including the portion consumed by the family of the jailer or superintendent; of clothing; of beds and bedding; of medicines; of medical attendance; of religious or secular instruction; of fuel; of light; allowance to discharged prisoners; allowance to witnesses in money or clothing. The prison book, verified by the oath of the jailer or superintendent, shall be exhibited to the county commissioners when his accounts are presented for examination, and at other times when demanded. A jailer or superintendent who neglects to keep such book or to enter therein such facts, or who wilfully makes any false entry therein, shall forfeit one hundred dollars, to be recovered by the county commissioners in the name of the county, or, in Suffolk county, by the penal institutions commissioner in the name of the city of Boston, and it shall be expended by them for the relief of discharged prisoners.