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.

Judge orders TRO in Corrections Board lawsuit, AG sues panel over FOIA violations

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

A tension-filled week of accusations, legal wranglings and political drama between Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders, Attorney General Tim Griffin and the state Board of Corrections ended with more acrimony and theater on Friday (Dec. 15).

For weeks, Gov. Sanders and the board have fought over plans to expand prison beds. Sanders has asked for additional space, while the seven-member corrections oversight panel has called for more details on funding and personnel to protect the prisoner expansion requests. Because the state Constitution gives autonomy to the board, the decision-making hasn’t been a purely executive decision for the governor. It led to Secretary of Corrections Joe Profiri being suspended with pay on Thursday, while a corrections board lawsuit was filed the same day to halt a new state law that it claims undermines its authority. Read more here.

All of this boiled to a new level of political turmoil on Friday as AG Griffin filed a lawsuit against the Board of Corrections for failing to comply with the state’s Freedom of Information Act, while a Pulaski County judge issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) in favor of the board in its lawsuit.

Judge orders TRO in Corrections Board lawsuit, AG sues panel over FOIA violations

Gov. Sanders blasts Board of Corrections for partially rejecting request for more beds

by George Jared (gjared@talkbusiness.net)

Gov. Sarah Sanders wants to create 500 new beds in the Arkansas Department of Correction (ADC) system and she is calling on the Board of Corrections to do so. A department spokesperson said the agency doesn’t have the staff to accommodate the bed request.

She was joined by Attorney General Tim Griffin, Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Director of Arkansas State Police Mike Hagar, Secretary of Corrections Joe Profiri among others on Friday (Nov. 17) to make the request public.

“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 Sanders.

Gov. Sanders blasts Board of Corrections for partially rejecting request for more beds