(a) The clerk of the court in which is pronounced the sentence of death against any convict shall deliver a certified copy thereof to the Director of the Department of Correction as soon as may be after the sentence.
(b) When a judgment of death is pronounced upon any person upon conviction of a capital offense, the person shall be immediately conveyed to the Department of Correction by the county sheriff of the county in which the trial was held and shall be delivered to the keeper of the department or director and kept there awaiting execution.