A. D. 1894. Penalty for escape. 1868, XIV., 95, Sec. 561. (2725.) If any person employed in keeping, taking care of or guarding the Penitentiary, or he prisoners therein, connivance at shall contrive, procure, connive at, or otherwise voluntarily suffer or permit, the escape of any such prisoner or prisoners, he, on 17. conviction thereof, shall be confined at hard labor in the Penitentiary not exceeding twenty years. &c., for dis victs. Sec. 562. (2726.) Whenever a convict shall be discharged Transportation, from the Penitentiary, it shall be the duty of the Superintendent charged conto furnish such convict with a suit of common clothes, if deemed Ib., 69, §1. necessary, and transportation from the Penitentiary to his home, or as near thereto as can be done by public conveyances. &c. 1868, XIV., $2. Sec. 563. (2727.) The cost of such transportation and Payment of, clothes shall be paid at the Treasury, on the draft of the Superintendent, countersigned by the Comptroller-General. Sec. 564. (2728.) All guards, keepers, employees and other officers that are now or may be hereafter employed at the Penitentiary shall be exempted from serving on juries, and from military, road or street duty. Convict Labor. Guards, &c., exempt from jury duty, &c. 1872, XV., 232. Certain convicts may be report annually sembly; pro retained for use $4. Sec. 565. (2729.) The Board of Directors of the Penitentiary are hereby authorized and empowered to lease or hire out hired out; Board any convicts in the Penitentiary, except convicts under sentence to General ASfor murder, rape, arson and manslaughter, under the following ceeds of labor rules, regulations and restrictions, with all others imposed by of Penitentiary. the said Board: That the said Board of Directors shall make an 1877, XVI., 263, annual report to the General Assembly at the regular sessions, showing the number and names of convicts hired out, to whom hired, for what purpose, and for what consideration; and the Board of Directors are authorized to retain for the use of the Penitentiary all amounts received by them from the hire or labor of convicts during the current fiscal year. Directors may hire convicts to work on railroad.-Ex Parte Ducket, 15 S. C., 214. Sec. 566. (2730.) All convicts shall be safely kept within the State and humanely treated, the food, clothing, lodging and modes of punishment to be carefully provided for in any and all contracts; and shall not be required to labor more than ten hours a day, or on Sundays or holidays. 1880, XVII., 374, §1. Treatment of 1877, XVI., 263. convicts, &c. Board to hire to highest bid Sec. 567. (2731.) It shall be the duty of the Board of Directors of the State Penitentiary in leasing convicts to hire them to der. the highest responsible bidder: Provided, That the Board of 1879, XVII., 169. A. D. 1894. Contractor to give bond: pen gent escape. . 1877, XVI., 393; Directors shall have power to reject any and all bids: Provided, further, That no bid shall be received that does not include the board, clothing and all other expenses connected with the transportation and safe keeping of said convicts, to be paid by the bidder Provided, further, That the said bidder do agree that if any convict or convicts so hired shall be proved to the satisfaction of said Directors to have been ill treated, or the contracts in relation to them to have been in any way violated, to return said convict or convicts immediately to the Penitentiary, upon the order of the said Directors. Sec. 568. (2732.) The contractor or company hiring said alty for negli- convicts shall enter into bond, payable to the State, in the sum of ten thousand dollars for every hundred convicts, and a bond 1882, XVIII., 255 in like proportion for a less number, for the safe keeping of the convicts; and for each convict that shall escape through negligence of any kind the contractor or company shall forfeit and pay to the State therefor the sum of fifty dollars per annum for each year of the unexpired term of the sentence of such escaped convict, and the fact of such escape shall be taken as prima facie evidence of negligence on the part of the contractor or railroad company: Provided, That the aggregate of said forfeiture shall not exceed two hundred and fifty dollars for any one convict: Provided, further, That if the convict shall be captured within two months and returned to custody free of cost to the State no penalty shall attach. Upon informa ment, Governor may order re One of Directors hiring convicts is liable for convicts negligently permitted to escape, though he did not give bond required.-Lipscomb v. Seegers, 19 S. C., 430. The fifty dollars is not a technical penalty, but is stipulated damages.-Ib. For fractions of a year such damages would be proportionate.--Ib. To recover them before the Act of 1882 the burden of proof is on plaintiff to show that the escape was through negligence of defendant while he had them in his possession.— Lipscomb v. Seegers, 22 S. C., 410. Sec. 569. (2733.) In case it shall at any time be found to tion of maltreat the satisfaction of the Governor that the said convicts, or any of turn; physician them, are maltreated or cruelly used, or insufficiently fed or to inspect and clothed, it shall be his duty forthwith to issue his instructions to 1880, XVII., 470. the Directors of the Penitentiary to recall all such convicts; and make report. thereupon the said contractors shall forthwith return such convicts to the State Penitentiary. In order to secure the intent of this Section, it is hereby made the duty of the Superintendent of the Penitentiary to cause the convicts furnished under the provisions of the foregoing Sections to be inspected by a physician as often as may be deemed necessary by the Superintendent or Board of Directors, and such physician shall report the result of such inspection to the Superintendent, who shall forward the same to the Governor. A. D. 1894. Rewards for caped convicts capture of es and payment of Sec. 570. (2734.) The Superintendent of the Penitentiary is authorized and required to offer a reward of twenty-five dollars for the capture of each escaped convict, and, besides said reward, expenses. to pay to any person who captures and returns to the Penitentiary any escaped convict five cents per mile each for said person and convict, and any reasonable allowance for expenses for board during the travel to the Penitentiary. 1882, XVII., 952, §1. Duty of Sheriff and other off cers to arrest Sec. 571. (2735.) It shall be the duty of all Sheriffs, Trial Justices and Constables forthwith to arrest any escaped convicts who may be found within their respective Counties and to con- victs. vey them to the State Penitentiary. Sec. 572, (2736.) Whoever shall harbor or employ any escaped convict, knowing him to be such, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined or imprisoned, or both fined and imprisoned, in the discretion of the presiding Judge. escaped con Ib., §2. Penalty for employing es harboring or caped convicts. Ib., 953, §3. Convicts to be under officer and guards who are responsible tendent. 1884, XVIII., 815 Sec. 573. No convicts shall be hired out as provided in the foregoing Sections unless such convicts shall be and remain under the supervision of a sworn officer and guards appointed by the to the SuperinSuperintendent of the Penitentiary; and every contract shall specify the hours of labor, and the time occupied in going to and returning from work shall be taken as a part of the hours making a day's work; and no convict so hired out shall be punished except by such officer. The pay allowance and ration of such officer and guards shall be included in the hire of the convicts, and shall be paid and supplied by the person hiring them; the amount of pay of such officer and guards to be paid by persons hiring convicts monthly in advance to the Superintendent of the Penitentiary, to be by him paid to such officer and guards, such officer and guards to be responsible to the Superintendent of the Penitentiary, and to hold their office subject to removal by the Superintendent; that the Directors of the Penitentiary shall enforce the provisions of this Section and shall hire no convict to be employed at any work or at any place until the Physician of the Penitentiary shall have declared in writing such work and place to be reasonably safe and healthy. The Superintendent and Directors of the Penitentiary shall prescribe the rules and regulations to be observed by said officer and guards in all cases. Duty of Physician. A. D. 1894. Contracts for hiring convicts. Sec. 574. The Superintendent and Board of Directors of the working and Penitentiary are hereby authorized to make contracts for the 1885, XIX., 74. performance of specific work, such work to be done entirely under the direction and control of the officers of the Penitentiary. Also to hire out the convicts under the provisions of the laws in force at the time of the passage of the preceding Section. (December 23d, 1884,) and such other rules and regulations as they may adopt to secure the well-being and humane treatment of the convicts; and that they be authorized to employ a physiPhysician to cian, to be nominated by the Surgeon of the Penitentiary, resibe employed. dent in the neighborhood, to have medical supervision of fifty or more convicts, such physician to be paid out of funds of the Penitentiary, and to report weekly to the Surgeon of the Penitentiary, the Superintendent and Board of Directors to have regard to such expense in fixing the compensation for the hire of such convicts. Superintendent and Direc Sec. 575. The Superintendent and Board of Directors of the tors may pur- Penitentiary are hereby authorized, in their discretion, to purchase or lease chase or lease, out of the surplus earnings of the Penitentiary, one or more farms in any part of the State, due regard being had for the reasonable healthfulness of the locality. farms. Ib. Violation of law a misdemeanor. Ib., 75. Penalty. Sec. 576. Any contractor or any other person or persons who shall violate the provisions of any law regulating the hiring of convicts shall be held guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment not exceeding five years or fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or both, in the discretion of the Court; and in all such prosecutions any convict shall be a competent witness in behalf of the State; and it shall be the duty of the Superintendent and Board of DirecViolation to be tors, and they are hereby required, to prosecute all violations of the law in reference to the treatment of convicts. prosecuted. Expenses of transportation, how paid. Ib. No convicts to work in phos Sec. 577. No sum beyond the actual expenses incurred in conveying such convicts to the Penitentiary shall be allowed for such services, which said sum shall be paid to the Superintendent by the State Treasurer upon the warrant of the ComptrollerGeneral. Sec. 578. No contracts for the hiring or leasing of convicts phate mines. in phosphate mining shall hereafter be made by the Board of 1889, XX., 320. Directors of the Penitentiary. Clerks to notify Superintendent of number of convicts. 1886, XIX., 486. Sec. 579. It shall be the duty of the Clerks of General Sessions and Common Pleas of the several Counties in this State, and they are severally hereby directed, immediately after the adjournment of the Court of General Sessions in their respective Counties, to notify the Superintendent of the Penitentiary of the number of convicts sentenced by the Court to imprisonment in the State Penitentiary; and it shall be the duty of the said Superintendent, as soon as he receives said notice, to send a suitable number of guards to convey said convicts to the Penitentiary. A. D. 1894. Guards to be sent. Mode of sum form of war Section 580. (2664.) When the Coroner shall be informed of, or shall see, the dead body of any person supposed to have moning a jury: come to a violent and untimely death, found lying within his rant. 1839, XI., 72, County, he shall make out his warrant, directed to all or any of 89; 1875, XV., 8. the Constables of his County, or to the Sheriff of his County, requiring them, or any of them, forthwith to summon a jury of fourteen men of the County, within a radius of ten miles, to appear before him at the time and place specified in the warrant, which warrant shall be in this form : |