LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Attorney General Tim Griffin, and other Arkansas leaders met Friday morning to call on the Board of Corrections to approve the creation of nearly 500 additional prison beds.
Earlier this year, Sanders signed the Safer, Stronger Arkansas legislative package into law. It paved the way for the state to build a new, 3,000-bed prison, alleviating overcrowding in county jails and improving conditions for inmates.
Additionally, the law requires anyone sentenced beginning in 2024 for any of 18 violent offenses — including capital murder, first-degree murder, and rape — to serve 100% of their sentence.
Opponents of the legislation said it’s only going to exacerbate problems for a state that already has one of the highest incarceration rates in the country.
“As Governor, my top priority is the safety and security of our citizens. I will not sit by while we enact the same broken policies that got us here in the first place because nobody ever called them out. Unfortunately, some in those positions of leadership are still playing games that put Arkansans in harm’s way. Last week, the Arkansas State Board of Corrections refused to approve Secretary Profiri’s thoughtful, informed and desperately needed request to open up hundreds of additional prison beds. This is simply unacceptable. I’m calling on the Board to convene an emergency meeting without delay to approve the 500 additional beds that they denied last week,” said Governor Sanders.
“The Board of Corrections failed to approve 500 additional prison beds—when we need several thousand—and demonstrated how out of touch with reality they are. Make no mistake, the Board’s decision makes us all less safe, and as a result is in direct conflict with their stated purpose ‘to manage correctional resources in the state such that offenders are held accountable for their actions, victims’ needs are addressed in a positive manner, and the safety of society is enhanced.’ Arkansans are tired of living with violent criminals who are arrested, convicted and released over and over again. Overcrowded prisons ensure that no violent criminal serves the time they deserve,” said Attorney General Tim Griffin “The Protect Act was designed specifically to reform our failed parole system and expand our prison capacity. Chairman Magness is a defender of the status quo and as such publicly testified against the Protect Act. He failed in the legislature, where the Protect Act passed both chambers by a supermajority. Now he is using the Board to impede reform of the corrections system. For someone who claims to support law enforcement, the chairman’s actions indicate otherwise. He opposes solutions that would make us safer and help law enforcement; he’s part of the problem. The Board’s failure is territorial bureaucracy at its worst and is a clarion call for reform.”
The package also includes $20 million to recruit, train, and retain correctional officers. It creates a new school for state troopers and allocates $5 million in overtime pay for police.
“It’s a complete disregard for public safety and the job of the Board of Corrections to vote down Secretary Profiri’s plan to add hundreds of new beds in our existing facilities. This Governor, Attorney General, and Legislature has made clear that public safety is a top priority, and the Board of Corrections is handicapping our ability to deliver what the voters of Arkansas have overwhelmingly supported by electing us,” said Arkansas Senate President Bart Hester.
“Expanding prison space is a commitment to public safety and an important component to go along with the Protect Arkansas Act passed by the 94th General Assembly. I am hopeful that the Board of Corrections will seriously consider Secretary Profiri’s plan to create additional bed space, which will aid in alleviating some of the strain placed on our county jails,” said Speaker Matthew Shepherd.
“Arkansans are impacted every day by violent criminals who should be behind bars, but instead they are preying on our communities and our citizens and threatening the lives of our law enforcement who are forced to arrest them time and time again. The Legislature, Governor, and Attorney General took decisive action when passing the Protect Arkansas Act and many other laws to protect our citizens and reform the criminal justice system in our state. However, the Board of Corrections has repeatedly subverted the efforts of the Governor and the Legislature to help ensure the public safety of our citizens, even testifying against the Protect Arkansas Act focused on their own power instead of making our state safer,” said Senator Ben Gilmore. “More recently, rejecting an increase of 500 beds by Secretary Profiri, the Board of Corrections is putting the life and safety of innocent Arkansans at risk. Additionally, our Sheriffs and County Judges are facing a crisis of overcrowding in our county jails, and those who should be facing the certainty of arrest are continuing their criminal activity. Arkansans deserve to live in safe communities, and the Board of Corrections should be held accountable.”
Sanders also signed the “Death by Delivery” bill this year, which focuses on drug dealers and charges them with murder if they deliver drugs that cause an overdose. Drug dealers also face life in prison if they traffic drugs with fentanyl to children.
“On behalf of my colleagues in the House of Representatives and Senate who voted overwhelmingly in support of the Protect Arkansas Act, we strongly encourage the Board of Corrections to work with Secretary Profiri to expand capacity in the ADC and protect Arkansans from violent criminals,” said Representative Jimmy Gazaway.
“As Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Corrections, the Department will no longer be complicit in informing crime in Arkansas through the premature release of prisoners or a catch and release process of law enforcement because of a lack of prison beds. We have space, we have beds and will make room for criminals who belong in prison. I and the well-trained Arkansas corrections professionals who serve this state and their communities are willing and able to take on the risk that goes with incarceration in lieu of pushing that risk to community through any process that undermines the criminal justice system,” said the Secretary of Corrections Joe Profiri.
“I support Secretary Profiri and the Arkansas Department of Corrections as they work to increase capacity in state correctional facilities. It is in everyone’s best interest to shift as many convicted state prisoners into state custody to free up space at county jails. Arkansas State Police Troopers and our local law enforcement partners need county jail facilities to have sufficient room to house men and women charged with violent crimes. We all share a common public safety goal of removing dangerous criminals from our communities,” said Secretary of Public Safety and Director of Arkansas State Police Mike Hagar.
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