2021 Georgia Code
Title 42 - Penal Institutions
Chapter 5 - Correctional Institutions of State and Counties
Article 3 - Conditions of Detention Generally
§ 42-5-61. Services and Benefits to Be Furnished Inmates Discharged by Department or County Correctional Institutions

1. Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, whenever an inmate is discharged upon pardon or completion of his sentence or is conditionally released or paroled from any place of detention to which he has been assigned under the authority of the department, the department shall provide the inmate the following:
   1. Transportation to the inmate's home within the United States or to a place chosen by the inmate and authorized by regulations of the board;
   2. An amount of money of not less than $25.00 and not more than $150.00, as determined according to regulations of the board; and
   3. A travel kit, when appropriate, and suitable clothing, each as provided by regulation of the board.
2. Whenever an inmate assigned to a county correctional institution by the department is discharged upon pardon or completion of his sentence or is conditionally released or paroled, the county shall provide the inmate the release benefits to which he is eligible under this Code section, and the department shall reimburse the county.
3. An inmate whose limits of confinement have been extended to allow him to participate in a work-release program of paid employment shall receive the benefits provided by this Code section only to the extent of financial need, as determined pursuant to regulations of the board.
4. An inmate convicted of an offense which is less than a felony shall receive the amount of $25.00 or less as determined under regulations of the board and transportation as provided in this Code section.
5. The department shall administer these benefits through regulations which are based upon the knowledge and skill of the board in aiding an inmate to make the initial adjustment to his release.

(Ga. L. 1956, p. 161, § 21; Ga. L. 1969, p. 600, § 1; Ga. L. 1972, p. 602, § 1; Ga. L. 1973, p. 542, § 1.)

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Legislative intent.

- This statute was intended to alleviate hardships which prisoners encounter on reentry into free society; this policy would apply to a second release as well as a first, especially the inmate who was unsuccessful in the inmate's first attempt to make the social adjustment to freedom. 1972 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 72-102.

- This section permits the Board of Offender Rehabilitation (Corrections) to issue either work clothes or a business suit to inmates who are discharged, paroled, or conditionally released. 1972 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 72-160.

- Inmate who has been paroled, conditionally released, or released on probation, and upon release has been given benefits pursuant to this section, and who has been returned to prison for violation of the conditions of release, is again entitled to receive benefits under this statute upon the completion of the inmate's sentence, provided the inmate is otherwise qualified. 1972 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 72-102.

Prisoner released upon payment of fine may fall within the category of prisoner "discharged upon completion of sentence" or within the category of a "conditionally released" prisoner, depending upon the particular order entered to effectuate the release; prisoners discharged in these categories with reference to discharge by payment of a fine are entitled to the benefits provided by this section. 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-245.

- Inmates being released from county jails who were committed to the director of corrections (now commissioner of corrections) and who have had files prepared for the inmates by the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Center, but who have not been picked up by the center, are entitled to the gratuities provided in this section. 1975 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 75-93.

Prisoner who is released "by reason of remission to probation" is entitled to the benefits provided for in this section. 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-245.

Prisoner who is discharged by an order of "remission to present service" is entitled to the benefits provided for by this section. 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-245.

Prisoner released to a detainer is not entitled to benefits provided by this section; it is not contemplated that the state prison uniform will be taken away from a prisoner released under this category. 1969 Op. Att'y Gen. No. 69-245.

RESEARCH REFERENCES

C.J.S.

- 72 C.J.S., Prisons and Rights of Prisoners, § 153.