Sen. King: Instead of one big prison, partner with counties

A bill being drafted by Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, would appropriate $600 million in fiscal year 2025 to expand county jails, particularly those in areas of the state where most prison inmates originate, rather than build a new prison that he said “is a financial debacle waiting to happen.”

King described the outline of the bill in a press conference at the State Capitol Wednesday (Jan. 8).

The senator would use $400 million that legislators have appropriated for a new prison in Charleston in western Arkansas, along with $200 million in surplus funds. The new prison was proposed by Gov. Sarah Sanders and the state Board of Corrections, but it has been met with fierce local opposition.

King, who represents constituents opposed to the western Arkansas prison, said partnerships with county facilities would allow the state to expand its prison space much faster than the one planned 3,000-bed prison, which he said will take five years to complete.

“Once we get in this project, we’re in for one of the biggest financial boondoggles in Arkansas history. You can see that already,” he said.

His approach would allow space to be built in or near the eight counties that produce 66.6% of the state’s Arkansas Department of Corrections inmates, according to the Board of Corrections. For example, the state could partner with Madison County with its new jail.

“And then we get almost immediate relief rather than trying to wait five years for a big mega prison, which we’ve seen just doesn’t happen the way these people promise,” he said.

According to the Board of Corrections, those eight counties are:
– Pulaski, 21%
– Sebastian, 8.6%
– Washington, 8%
– Benton, 7.1%
– Faulkner, 6.5%
– Saline, 5.5%
– Jefferson, 5.4%
– Crawford, 4.5%

King said costs would decrease and inmates’ families could visit at the closer locations, potentially reducing recidivism. He said he has not met with Gov. Sanders about the bill.

King is an outspoken opponent of the state’s plan to build the prison in Charleston. He said costs will far outweigh the original $470 million estimate based on Alabama’s and Utah’s recent experiences with new prisons.

He criticized state officials and the governor’s office for a lack of transparency and for not providing cost estimates for the construction. He said there’s no water services at that location, and no road infrastructure that can handle the construction phase. He said the cost of providing electricity is unknown.

“The idea that you would sit there and not provide cost estimates and know this before you purchased the property, if you worked for a construction company and made this deal, you would be fired,” he said.

King said he intends to introduce another bill to address crime itself. He said a holistic approach is needed.

“Because you can’t take care of one and not take care of the other,” he said. “Because if we don’t do something about the crime and stop it on the front end, we’re going to be prison poor. I mean, we’re going to just build another prison, fill it up, another prison, fill it up. We cannot continue on this path.”

UPDATE: Governor Sanders’ spokesperson Sam Dubke said King’s proposal is counter to the governor’s approach to addressing the prison overcrowding problem.

“Placing the burden of long-term incarceration on county jails is a failed strategy and a disservice to communities and inmates alike. The Governor and her staff have been in contact with Franklin County leaders and will continue to engage the community as the state constructs a prison that will bring hundreds of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in investment in Franklin County while building a safer, stronger Arkansas,” said Dubke.