Arkansas committee concludes probe of Corrections Board’s hiring of outside counsel • Arkansas Advocate
An Arkansas legislative panel will meet today to vote on next steps after concluding its investigation of potential violations of procurement law by the state Board of Corrections. The Joint Performance Review Committee has spent three meetings this month examining the board’s hiring of attorney Abtin Mehdizadegan to represent it in litigation with the state. […]
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Lawmakers criticize Arkansas Board of Corrections members, attorney over altered contract • Arkansas Advocate
Arkansas lawmakers spent six hours Thursday raking state Board of Corrections leaders and the board’s outside attorney over changes to the lawyer’s contract and how the board conducts its business. Members of the Joint Performance Review Committee criticized prison board chairman Benny Magness and secretary Lee Watson over the handling of the lawyer’s hiring. They […]
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Arkansas Corrections Board plays fast and loose with open meetings law • Arkansas Advocate
Imagine a handful of journalists gathered in a small conference room at Department of Corrections headquarters in North Little Rock, their attention focused on an old business telephone on a small table as they strain to hear the disembodied and often unidentified voices of Board of Corrections members and staff emanating from the device. That’s […]
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Legislative panels to probe Arkansas Board of Corrections contract, practices • Arkansas Advocate
State lawmakers on Friday initiated a pair of investigations into the Arkansas Board of Corrections over the prison oversight panel’s hiring of special counsel to sue the state. The Legislative Joint Auditing Committee will investigate the origins of the board’s contract with the Hall Booth Smith law firm and attorney Abtin Mehdizadegan; Joint Performance Review […]
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Arkansas Board of Corrections to probe changes to special counsel contract • 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 […]
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Arkansas Supreme Court won’t fast-track case against Board of Corrections • Arkansas Advocate
Arkansas’ highest court has rejected the attorney general’s request that it speed the appeal of his unsuccessful lawsuit against the state prison board. The Arkansas Supreme Court in a Thursday order denied AG Tim Griffin’s motion for expedited consideration of his Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Board of Corrections, which was dismissed by […]
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Arkansas prison board member declines to resign over civil lawsuit allegations • Arkansas Advocate
A member of Arkansas’ prison oversight board on Thursday rejected mounting pressure that he resign over allegations in a civil lawsuit that he covered up child sex abuse at a youth camp. Board of Corrections member Alonza Jiles in a statement said the allegations about him in the lawsuits against the Lord’s Ranch were false, […]
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Tracy Dowell appointed interim superintendent of Arkansas prisons school district
The Arkansas Correctional School District Board on Wednesday appointed Deputy Superintendent Tracy Dowell as interim superintendent and voted to advertise for a permanent superintendent. The superintendent’s position became vacant last week with the sudden death of William “Bill” Glover, 71, who had been superintendent since 2015. Glover had been with the district since 1976, serving […]
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Arkansas governor taps new corrections secretary after conversations with prison board members
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed the Department of Corrections’ chief of staff to take over the prisons agency as its cabinet secretary on Thursday. Sanders’ appointment of Lindsay Wallace, who has been the agency’s chief of staff since 2020, came a day after the Republican governor spoke with each member of the Arkansas Board of […]
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Arkansas parole board head resigns after past relationship with minor comes to light
This story was updated at 6:05 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2, 2024 to reflect Arkansas Post-Prison Transfer Board Chairman Jamol Jones’ resignation. The new chairman of Arkansas’ parole board lied about having sex with a minor and was fired from a Central Arkansas police department five years ago. Newly uncovered records from the Benton Police Department […]
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