2022 Georgia Code
Title 42 - Penal Institutions
Chapter 5 - Correctional Institutions of State and Counties
Article 1 - General Provisions
§ 42-5-18. Items Prohibited for Possession by Inmates; Warden’s Authorization; Penalty; Use of Unmanned Aircraft to Accomplish Violations

1. As used in this Code section, the term:
   1. “Inmate” means a prisoner, detainee, criminal suspect, immigration detainee, or other person held, incarcerated, or detained in a place of incarceration, whether or not such person is inside or outside of such place of incarceration.
   2. “Place of incarceration” means any prison, probation detention center, jail, or institution, including any state, federal, local, or privately operated facility, used for the purpose of incarcerating criminals or detainees.
   3. “Telecommunications device” means a device, an apparatus associated with a device, or a component of a device that enables, or may be used to enable, communication with a person outside a place of incarceration, including a telephone, cellular telephone, personal digital assistant, transmitting radio, or computer connected or capable of being connected to a computer network, by wireless or other technology, or otherwise capable of communicating with a person or device outside of a place of incarceration.
   4. “Warden or superintendent” means the commissioner or any warden, superintendent, sheriff, chief jailor, or other person who is responsible for the overall management and operation of a place of incarceration.
2. It shall be unlawful for any person to obtain for, to procure for, or to give to an inmate a gun, pistol, or any other weapon; any intoxicating liquor; amphetamines, biphetamines, or any other hallucinogenic drugs or other drugs, regardless of the amount; any telecommunications device; or any other article or item without the authorization of the warden or superintendent or his or her designee.

   (b.1) It shall be unlawful for any person to obtain for, to procure for, or to give to an inmate tobacco or any product containing tobacco without the authorization of the warden or superintendent or his or her designee.

3. It shall be unlawful for an inmate to possess a gun, pistol, or any other weapon; any intoxicating liquor; tobacco or any product containing tobacco; amphetamines, biphetamines, or any other hallucinogenic drugs or other drugs, regardless of the amount; a telecommunications device; or any other item without the authorization of the warden or superintendent or his or her designee.
4. 1. An inmate who commits or attempts to commit a violation of subsection (c) of this Code section shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned for not less than one nor more than five years; provided, however, that if an inmate violates this Code section while being held pursuant to an arrest or conviction for a misdemeanor offense, the possession of a telecommunications device in violation of this Code section shall be treated as a misdemeanor.
   2. A person who commits or attempts to commit a violation of subsection (b) of this Code section shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of two years but not more than ten years, and no portion of the mandatory minimum sentence imposed shall be suspended, stayed, probated, deferred, or withheld by the sentencing court.
   3. A person who commits or attempts to commit a violation of subsection (b.1) of this Code section shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be imprisoned for not less than one nor more than five years.
5. 1. It shall be unlawful for an inmate to possess a stored value card, the account number of a stored value card, or the personal identification number of a stored value card.
   2. It shall be unlawful for any person to obtain for, to procure for, or to give an inmate a stored value card, the account number of a stored value card, or the personal identification number of a stored value card.
   3. A person who commits a violation of this subsection shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than one nor more than ten years, unless the judge imposes a misdemeanor sentence pursuant to Code Section 17-10-5.
6. 1. It shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally use an unmanned aircraft system to violate the provisions of subsection (b) or (b.1) of this Code section.
   2. 1. It shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally photograph or otherwise record images of a place of incarceration through the use of an unmanned aircraft system for purposes of committing a criminal offense.
      2. Any person may secure prior authorization from the warden or the superintendent, or his or her designated representative, of such place of incarceration for photographing or recording as evidence of a noncriminal intent; provided, however, that failure to secure such prior authorization shall not evidence a criminal intent.
   3. Any person who commits or attempts to commit a violation of this subsection shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be sentenced as follows:
      1. Any person convicted of a violation of paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be imprisoned for not less than one nor more than ten years; and
      2. Any person convicted of paragraph (2) of this subsection shall be imprisoned for not less than one nor more than five years.
   4. For purposes of this Code section, the term “unmanned aircraft system” shall have the same meaning as provided for in Code Section 6-1-4.

History. Ga. L. 1976, p. 1506, § 2; Ga. L. 1984, p. 593, § 1; Ga. L. 2008, p. 533, § 1/SB 366; Ga. L. 2016, p. 811, § 8/HB 874; Ga. L. 2017, p. 673, § 3-3/SB 149; Ga. L. 2018, p. 1112, § 42/SB 365; Ga. L. 2019, p. 293, § 1/SB 6; Ga. L. 2020, p. 493, § 42/SB 429.

The 2016 amendment, effective May 3, 2016, designated the existing provisions of subsection (d) as paragraph (d)(1); in paragraph (d)(1), substituted “An inmate” for “A person” in the beginning, inserted “subsection (c) of”, and substituted “an inmate” for “a person” in the middle; and added paragraph (d)(2).

The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, added “, whether or not such person is inside or outside of such place of incarceration” at the end of paragraph (a)(1); added paragraph (b.1); inserted “tobacco or any product containing tobacco;” near the beginning of subsection (c); added paragraph (d)(3); and added subsection (e).

The 2018 amendment, effective May 8, 2018, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted “means the commissioner” for “shall mean the commissioner” in paragraph (a)(4); and substituted “provided, however, that if an inmate” for “provided, however, if an inmate” in the proviso of paragraph (d)(1).

The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, added subsection (f).

The 2020 amendment, effective July 29, 2020, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, revised capitalization in paragraph (f)(4).

Cross references.

Similar provisions regarding furnishing of alcoholic beverages to inmates of jails, penal institutions, correctional facilities, or other lawful places of confinement, § 3-3-25 .