Arkansas Board of Corrections to probe changes to special counsel contract

KUAR | By Hunter Field / Arkansas Advocate

From the Arkansas Advocate:

Arkansas’ prison board will investigate when and how changes were made to a legal contract without the knowledge of state procurement officials.

State legislators, prison leaders and financial officials were perplexed Tuesday about unusual language inserted into an agreement between the Arkansas Department of Corrections/Board of Corrections and the Hall Booth Smith law firm that could subject the state to liability.

State Procurement Director Ed Armstrong discovered the addition in the middle of a legislative meeting, prompting the prison board to commit to investigating who made the changes to the agreement and when.

Arkansas Board of Corrections to probe changes to special counsel contract

Michael Hibblen/Little Rock Public Radio

The Arkansas State Capitol.

Pressure mounts against Board of Corrections member affiliated with abuse

A member of the Arkansas Board of Corrections is facing calls to resign after allegations of child abuse were lodged against a former employer. He was appointed to the board by then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson in 2022.

Alonza Jiles was once the senior director of The Lord's Ranch and is now a pastor. The therapeutic boarding school was formerly located in Warm Springs Ark. near the Missouri border. It has come under fire after former residents say they were physically and sexually abused at the facility, and that Jiles knew and did nothing to stop it.

The Gillispie Law firm in Arkansas has been filing lawsuits against the now-defunct camp’s former employees. So, far they have filed two lawsuitson behalf of dozens of accusers listed only as “John Does.” The lawsuits detail at least seven instances where Jiles was told about molestation at the camp, but refused to intervene.

Pressure mounts against Board of Corrections member affiliated with abuse

Romanucci & Blandin/Courtesy Photo

Jiles worked at The Lord's Ranch in Warm Springs, Ark., where he is alleged to have covered up sexual abuse.

Governor names new chair of Arkansas parole board

KUAR | By Sonny Albarado / Arkansas Advocate

Lona McCastlain

From the Arkansas Advocate:

Austin attorney Lona McCastlain was named Wednesday evening as chair of the state parole board, which also makes the former prosecutor a member of the Arkansas Board of Corrections.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced the dual appointment about 6:42 p.m. in a press release along with appointees to other state boards and some county governments.

McCastlain replaces Jamol Jones, who resigned as chair of the Post-Prison Transfer Board on Feb. 2, after reports about his past relationship with a minor came to light. Jones’ resignation came about a week after Sanders had named him chair of the parole board.

Governor names new chair of Arkansas parole board

Eddie Joe Williams resigns from Corrections post

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

Former State Senator Eddie Joe Williams, who was recently tabbed for an interim post with the Board of Corrections, has resigned.

Williams sent a letter to the board that reads:

“As we have previously discussed, if I was unable to accomplish my goals while working with the Department of Corrections, I would gladly step aside. Numerous times before and during our executive meeting, we discussed the goals of expanding prison beds, hiring and retaining employees and bringing stakeholders together. I regretfully find myself in the position today that I am unable to accomplish those and must step aside.

Eddie Joe Williams resigns from Corrections post

Arkansas prison board votes to name former state senator interim corrections secretary

KUAR | By Hunter Field / Arkansas Advocate

The Arkansas Board of Corrections voted Wednesday to hire a former Republican state senator as the prison system’s interim head.

The vote — which wasn’t included on the meeting’s agenda and required a suspension of the board’s rules — to make former Sen. Eddie Joe Williams of Cabot the interim secretary of the Department of Corrections came three weeks after the board fired then-Secretary Joe Profiri.

The board also approved additional inmate space at one facility, pending the hiring of more guards. And it ran into a stumbling block regarding payment of an attorney it hired to represent it in a lawsuit against the governor.

Arkansas prison board votes to name former state senator interim corrections secretary

Gov. Sanders’ Board of Corrections appointee fired from police department in 2018 over sexual misconduct

by Michael Tilley (mtilley@talkbusiness.net)

Jamol Jones, who was recently appointed by Gov. Sarah Sanders to the Arkansas Board of Corrections (BOC), was fired from the Benton Police Department in 2018 after having a sexual relationship with a minor, according to city records.

The revelation comes as a conflict continues between the BOC and Gov. Sanders over actions taken by former Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri and Sanders’ demands to add more beds to the prison system.

Jones, of Benton, was appointed in late January to the BOC as chair of the Post-Prison Transfer Board. The position serves at the will of the governor, and Jones replaced John Felts.

According to information provided to Talk Business & Politics by the City of Benton, Jones was hired April 25, 2018, as a police officer by the Benton Police Department. Several months later, Jones would begin a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old female after meeting at Planet Fitness.

Gov. Sanders’ Board of Corrections appointee fired from police department in 2018 over sexual misconduct

Arkansas Board of Corrections fires prisons chief in escalating dispute with governor

KUAR | By Hunter Field / Arkansas AdvocateFrom the Arkansas Advocate:

Arkansas’ prison oversight board on Wednesday fired Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri — a week after a judge ruled that Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ cabinet appointee served at the pleasure of the board for now.

Attorney General Tim Griffin has pledged to appeal that ruling, so it isn’t clear if Profiri, who came to Arkansas from Arizona a year ago with Sanders when she took office, will be permanently ousted.

Shortly after the ouster, Sanders announced that she would hire Profiri as a senior advisor, calling his termination a political stunt.

Profiri has had a strained relationship with the Board of Corrections since Sanders gave him a $40,000-a-year pay raise shortly after taking office and without the board’s approval. He was paid an annual salary of $210,000.

Arkansas Board of Corrections fires prisons chief in escalating dispute with governor

John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate

Former Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Corrections Joe Profiri, left, listens as Gov.Sarah Huckabee Sanders talks about criminal justice legislation during a news conference at the State Capitol on March 28, 2023.

Arkansas judge agrees with Board of Corrections, grants preliminary injunction

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

A judge has sided with the Arkansas Board of Corrections in a lawsuit filed against Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Patricia James heard testimony Thursday from corrections officials about safety in state prisons. She also listened to legal debates over the constitutionality of the way the board is managed.

Last year, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed several criminal justice-related laws. These included the “Protect Act” which required violent criminals to serve more of their sentence, and Act 185 which gives the governor more oversight over prison management.

In her ruling Thursday, James sided with the Corrections Board, blocking Act 185 and parts of the Protect Act from going into effect until the lawsuit's resolution.

Arkansas judge agrees with Board of Corrections, grants preliminary injunction

The Pulaski County Courthouse in downtown Little Rock is seen in this file photo.

Arkansas Board of Corrections suspends Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri (Updated)

When Arkansas Board of Corrections (BOC) Chair Benny Magness said the situation between the board and Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri was “untenable,” he meant it. The Board on Thursday (Dec. 14) suspended Profiri for his actions related to adding prison beds.

In a letter dated Dec. 14 and directed to Gov. Sarah Sanders and Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, Magness noted that Profiri is on “indefinite leave with pay pending further order of the court or decision of the Board. In the meantime, please understand that Mr. Profiri is prohibited from entry onto any property operated, owned or leased by the Arkansas Board of Corrections or its subordinate departments and division excluding his state-provided housing. Mr. Profiri is also barred from accessing any Board technology resources. In the event Mr. Profiri disobeys this directive, the matter will be referred to appropriate law enforcement.”

In a Nov. 20 letter to Sanders and Griffin, Magness chastised the two about going public with the prison bed dispute instead of working together on a solution.

Arkansas Board of Corrections suspends Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri (Updated)