(a) No warden, superintendent, deputy, inspector, physician, or any officer or other employee who has charge, control, or direction of inmates shall be interested in any manner whatever in the work or profit of the labor of any inmate; nor shall any such personnel receive any pay, gift, gratuity, or favor of a valuable character from any person interested, either directly or indirectly, in such labor.

(b) Any person violating subsection (a) of this Code section shall be guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of not less than two years and not more than five years. The offense may be reduced to a misdemeanor by recommendation of the jury trying the case, if the court concurs in the jury's recommendation. In addition, a person who violates subsection (a) of this Code section shall be summarily discharged from the service of the state by the department.

(c) This Code section shall not prohibit a part-time professional employee from the regular practice of his profession.