Surrounded by law enforcement at the Arkansas State Police headquarters, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed more bills into law. Both bills were passed in the recent general session of the state legislature and signed Tuesday.
The “Protect Arkansas Act” would require people convicted of some violent crimes, such as rape or murder, to serve most or all of their sentences before being eligible for parole. The governor was joined during her remarks by state police, Sen. Ben Gilmore, Rep. Jimmy Gazaway, and Attorney General Tim Griffin.
“I've heard from police and prison personnel from across our state,” Sanders said, explaining that people in the profession are “struggling.”
“It's no mistake that Arkansas has one of the highest violent crime rates in America,” she said. She described her belief that violent criminals are allowed out of jail too quickly instead of being made to serve the entirety of their sentences.
The legislature has also set aside additional funding to expand prison bed space in the state. Sanders says prison overcrowding has led to county jails having to hold more detainees, referencing Saline County Sheriff Rodney Wright.
“Sheriff Wright in particular has more than 40 state inmates sitting in his county jail, he can't move them to the state prison because of the bed shortage,” she said. “And while he is holding these violent offenders he is unable to lock up other criminals in our state.”
In response to questions about prison bed space, Department of Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri said he was planning to add more beds to current prison facilities. Both he and the governor expressed their intention to build a new prison, with Profiri hoping to complete the facility in the next 36 months. He told reporters that he had “begun collaborating with internal partners in state government” to get the process started.
He also hoped to use some of the money in the bill to reform prisoners.
“What we believe in is time well spent,” he said. “We want those programs to be meaningful.”
The bill has received criticism from Democratic lawmakers who say there’s not enough evidence that longer prison sentences help to deter crime.
The governor on Tuesday also signed the “Fentanyl Enforcement and Accountability Act” which would allow the state to charge someone with “death by delivery” for selling illegal drugs which later cause a fatal overdose.
