Mississippi Code
Miss. Code Ann. § 47-1-57 (2026)
Furnishing of medical aid to prisoners; nurse screening for county prisoner for nonemergency medical complaints
✓ current as of July 2026
- (1) When any person confined in jail shall be in need of medical or surgical aid, the sheriff shall immediately examine the condition of such prisoner and, if he is of the opinion that the prisoner needs such aid, he shall call in a nurse or physician to attend him. If the prisoner be unable to pay the cost, the account of the nurse or physician, when allowed and certified as required in respect to accounts of sheriffs for keeping prisoners, shall be paid, in like manner, out of the treasury of the county in which a prisoner is charged with the crime for which he is imprisoned. The board of supervisors may contract with a physician for the jail by the year.
- (2) The board of supervisors of any county may authorize the sheriff to establish a program under which prisoners expressing the need for non-emergency medical attention will have access to a registered nurse who will evaluate their condition and determine the necessity for treatment by a physician. Charges for such a visit with a registered nurse shall be paid by the prisoner by deductions made by the sheriff out of any funds of the prisoner held by the sheriff or in any other manner satisfactory to the sheriff; however, such prisoner shall not be required to pay out of funds of the prisoner held by the sheriff, more than Ten Dollars ($10.00) per visit. If the prisoner is unable to pay the cost, the cost shall be paid out of the county treasury in the same manner as provided for payment of other medical costs in subsection (1) of this section.
Codes, Hutchinson's 1848, ch. 28, art. 8; 1857, ch. 6, art. 132; 1871, § 238; 1880, § 345; 1892, § 4139; 1906, § 4690; Hemingway's 1917, § 3107; 1930, § 3337; 1942, § 4262; Laws, 1940, ch. 262; Laws, 1956, ch. 194; Laws, 1994, ch. 642, § 1, eff. 4/8/1994.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 10
cases, 1976–2015 · leading case: Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97 (1976).
Estelle v. Gamble, 429 U.S. 97 (1976). “84 (1969); Miss. Code Ann. § 47-1-57 (1972); Mo. Ann.”
Tillis v. State, 43 So. 3d 1127 (Miss. 2010). “See Walnut Grove Correctional Authority Home Page, http:// www.walnutgrove-ms.com/ca.htm (last accessed June 21, 2010).”
Cruse v. Nunley, 699 So. 2d 941 (Miss. 1997). “Cruse, former inmate of the Tishomingo County Jail, was awarded compensatory damages and injunctive relief against Johnny Nunley, the former Sheriff of Tishomingo County and the Tishomingo County Board of Supervisors for violations of Miss. Code Ann. §§ 47-1-57 (Supp. 1997);…”
Marvin Jones, on His Own Behalf & on Behalf of Those Similarly Situated v. Fred R. Diamond, Etc., 594 F.2d 997 (5th Cir. 1979). “Under Mississippi law, all persons held in county jails have a right to medical attention, Miss.Code Ann. § 47-1-57 (1972). Prison Food The Constitution requires only that prisoners be furnished reasonably adequate food, Newman v.”
Shirley Warren v. State of Mississippi, 187 So. 3d 631 (Miss. Ct. App. 2015). “2012) (defining an “employee” of the State of Mississippi and noting that prison doctors and other prison healthcare practitioners are included in the definition); Miss. Code Ann. § 47-1-57 (Rev. 2011) (noting that prisons and jails possess authorized medical personnel).”
Harvison v. Greene Cnty. Sheriff Dept., 899 So. 2d 922 (Miss. Ct. App. 2005). “[3] Miss.Code Ann. § 47-1-57. Furnishing of medical aid to prisoners; nurse screening for county prisoner for nonemergency medical complaints.”
Stewart v. Winter, 87 F.R.D. 760 (N.D. Miss. 1980). “Designated as county jailor, the sheriff has the duty to provide for all inmate needs, § 19-25-71, including medical aid, § 47-1-57. The county health officer, upon instructions from the board of supervisors, is empowered to investigate the sanitary conditions of the jail and…”
Zenas Tillis v. State of Mississippi (Miss. 2009). “htm (last accessed June 21, 2010). To the end of satisfying that duty, Cornell contracted with Health Assurance to provide employees like Hogue to perform medical services at Walnut Grove.”
Billy M Cruse v. Johnny Nunley (Miss. 1995). “Cruse, former inmate of the Tishomingo County Jail, was awarded compensatory damages and injunctive relief against Johnny Nunley, the former Sheriff of Tishomingo County and the Tishomingo County Board of Supervisors for violations of Miss. Code Ann. §§ 47-1-57 (Supp. 1997);…”
Jason Daniel Jones v. State of Mississippi (Miss. 2000). “See Miss. Code Ann. § 47-1-57 (Rev. 2000) (When any person confined in jail shall be in need of medical or surgical aid, the sheriff shall immediately examine the condition of such prisoner and, if he is of the opinion that the prisoner needs such aid, he shall call in a nurse…”
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