{"data":{"id":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-279-11","jurisdiction":"us-ma","citation":"Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 279, § 11","heading":"Punishment by imprisonment only or by fine only when law prescribes both","body":"Section 11. Whoever is convicted of a crime, punishable by fine and imprisonment either in the jail or house of correction, except a person convicted under section thirty G of chapter one hundred and thirty-eight, may at the discretion of the court, be sentenced to be punished by imprisonment only, or by a fine only, if he shows to the satisfaction of the court that he has not before been convicted of a similar crime.","path":["Part IV","Title II","Chapter 279"],"source_url":"https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleII/Chapter279/Section11","current_through":"amendments passed before May 31, 2026","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-17T05:25:23Z","sha256":"653f89d5fdfe08c8e8bf1033d5a5bb58bb42ed315992d3adff0a3294c3e6a602","source_id":"us-ma","stale":false,"prev":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-279-10","next":"us-ma/mass.-gen.-laws-ch.-279-12"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}