Franklin County group hires attorney to oppose planned state prison
Fort Smith attorney Joey McCutchen has been selected as legal counsel for a Franklin County group opposed to a planned state prison in the county. He’s not sure if they can succeed, but they are “looking for causes of action” to block the prison plan.
The Franklin County & River Valley Coalition announced that McCutchen and his firm “will be representing the coalition as we prepare to explore legal, legislative, and political options concerning the proposed prison in Franklin County. The proposed prison, which would be the state’s largest, raises serious concerns regarding local infrastructure, economic strain, and taxpayer burden.”
The Arkansas Board of Corrections (BOC) on Nov. 8 voted to accept the land for a planned 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County. The move comes after considerable protest from county residents and Arkansas legislators who represent the area.
Gov. Sarah Sanders, Arkansas Department of Corrections Secretary Lindsay Wallace, BOC Chairman Benny Magness, and other state and local officials announced Oct. 31 that the state has purchased land north of Charleston in Franklin County to build the prison. The cost for the 815 acres was $2.9 million.
More than 1,800 area residents attended a town hall on Nov. 7 at the Charleston High School gym to ask questions about the prison and push back against it being built in Franklin County.
According to Magness, Friday’s vote is merely to transfer the land from the state to the BOC so the process can begin to determine if a prison can be built on the site. He said there is a “slim possibility that the site won’t work,” but the BOC needs to “accept the site and move on” with site studies and other things necessary to make a decision on whether to build a prison.
During Thursday’s town hall in Charleston, Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, suggested legal action might be pursued to stop the state from building a prison in Franklin County. Stubblefield said he and other legislators representing Franklin County were not aware the state had purchased the land.
When asked if he is being paid, McCutchen told Talk Business & Politics the coalition is raising money to support the push against the prison, “but I’ll probably end up doing it for free.” He said a lack of transparency by state officials in the process to buy the land and the unwillingness “or inability” to answer questions about the total cost of the prison are the primary reasons he agreed to take the case.
“When our representatives are kept out of the process, and for no good reason, this is the way you create distrust in government when you dump in someone’s backyard a prison and you have no upfront discussion,” McCutchen said.
State officials, including Magness and Joe Profiri, a senior consultant to Gov. Sanders, have said the $330 million previously approved by the Arkansas Legislature for the prison, and another $75 million set aside for the prison should be enough to build it. Magness also said most communities initially oppose a prison but eventually support it once they see the economic benefits.
“Though it is not yet possible to offer a full cost estimate for the new prison, this project will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in one-time construction spending in Charleston, creating thousands of jobs. Once the prison is complete, it will employ nearly 800 individuals at an average salary of more than $46,600, based on estimates, and will enhance Charleston’s roads, utilities, and infrastructure,” according to the Oct. 31 statement from Sanders’ office.
McCutchen said there will likely be more information come forward in the next few months as the BOC conducts a detailed review of the Franklin County property site. He believes that info will present “many problems” for the state.
“I don’t think they’ve done their homework. I think there are a lot of unanswered questions,” McCutchen said.