c. 268, § 23
Refusal or delay to execute process resulting in escape
Official text prohibited actmental stateif conditionpenaltylegal term
An officer who, being authorized to serve process, wilfully and refuses to execute a lawful process directed to him and requiring him to apprehend or confine a person convicted of or charged with crime, or wilfully and omits or delays to execute such process, whereby such person escapes, shall be punished by a fine of not more than five hundred dollars or by imprisonment for not more than one year.
Simplified explanation
An officer who wilfully and corruptly refuses or delays to execute process to apprehend or confine a person, so that the person escapes, faces a fine up to $500 or up to one year in prison.