The department is authorized and directed to reimburse the clerk of the court for court costs incurred in trying a defendant for the crime of escape when the escape is from a state correctional institution and to reimburse the sheriff of the county wherein the trial takes place for the expense of transporting the defendant from the place of detention to court for trial and returning the defendant from the court to the place of detention, such reimbursement to be at the rate of 10¢ per mile.
OCGA § 42-5-5