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 […]
Read More
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 […]
Read More
Albanian mayor from Greek minority is imprisoned for vote buying. That’s likely to anger Greece
An Albanian court has imprisoned a mayor from the country’s Greek minority on vote-buying charges By LLAZAR SEMINI Associated Press March 5, 2024, 9:49 AM ET • 1 min read TIRANA, Albania — An Albanian court on Tuesday imprisoned a mayor from the country’s Greek minority on vote-buying charges, a ruling that was expected to […]
Read More
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, […]
Read More
Arkansas prison board votes to name former state senator interim corrections secretary
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 […]
Read More
Arkansas board suspends corrections secretary, sues over state law removing ability to fire him
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas Board of Corrections suspended the state’s corrections secretary on Thursday and sued the state over a law removing its ability to fire him, ramping up its dispute with Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders over who runs the state’s prison system. The panel voted 3-2 to suspend Secretary Joe Profiri, […]
Read More
How a Brutal Jail Death Exposes Arkansas’ ‘Punishing’ Justice System
Newsweek began probing criminal justice issues in Arkansas after reporting in January on the death of Larry Eugene Price, who starved to death in an Arkansas jail. His case is now the subject of a federal lawsuit. Now, in a months-long, two-part investigation, Newsweek examines the case of Marshall Ray Price (no relation), who died […]
Read More
Improving Arkansas prison mental health services focus of legislative hearing
Formerly incarcerated individuals and prison reform advocates told lawmakers Monday that inadequate mental health services is one of the Arkansas Department of Corrections’ biggest problems. LeDeana Biddle, founder of the nonprofit advocacy group Arkansas Department of Corrections Family Support, was one of a dozen people who told the Joint Committee on State Agencies and Governmental […]
Read More
Arkansas governor, attorney general urge corrections board to approve 500 new prison beds | News
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Attorney General Tim Griffin urged the state Board of Corrections Friday to approve 500 temporary prison beds, sharply criticizing the panel for not moving forward with an effort to alleviate overcrowding. Sanders urged the board to hold an emergency meeting to reconsider her administration’s […]
Read More
Hubbard nears end of sentence for ethics conviction | #republicans | #Alabama | #GOP
MONTGOMERY, Ala (AP) — Former Alabama House Speaker Mike Hubbard is nearing the end of his prison sentence for his conviction on ethics charges. The Alabama Department of Corrections lists a Jan. 8 minimum release date for Hubbard. Hubbard was sentenced to 28 months in prison after a jury convicted him of violating state ethics […]
Read More