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LITTLE ROCK — Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders pushed back this week after criticism from the Franklin County sheriff related to her administration’s proposal to put a new 3,000-bed prison on 815 acres of land a few miles north of Charleston.
The safety of Arkansans is at risk as long as the correctional system is overcrowded and does not have enough beds to house individuals convicted of crimes, according to the Governor’s Office.
“There are 176,000 warrants that are unenforced in the state of Arkansas because there is no prison bed space to house these offenders, and Governor Sanders stands with the vast majority of Arkansas sheriffs, county judges, law enforcement, and legislators in support of a new prison in Franklin County to help end the failed system of catch-and-early-release of dangerous criminals,” Sam Dubke, communications director for the Governor’s Office, said Monday evening in an emailed statement.
Franklin County Sheriff Johnny Crocker gave his opinions in an approximately four-minute video Sunday on social media. The video had more than 171,000 views and more than 1,500 shares by Tuesday morning, he said.
Crocker stated in the video his strong opposition to the state’s plan to use land at Mill Creek Mountain for major construction.
He criticized the chosen location for what would be the largest prison in Arkansas — and has been estimated to cost more than $850 million — but did not specifically address the overall need for a new correctional facility somewhere in the state.
‘FIGURE THIS OUT’
At least some law enforcement leaders believe the manner by which the state adds beds to the Department of Corrections is not as important as the goal of getting the capacity added as quickly as possible.
“I don’t care where it’s at, how big it is — we need more bed space,” Sebastian County Sheriff Hobe Runion told lawmakers in a mid-August joint meeting of the Arkansas Senate and House Committees on City, County and Local Affairs at the Rogers Convention Center.
Many state and local leaders, including the governor, have argued the bed shortage and overcrowding lead to dangerous offenders being released early from prison, creating risks for the public.
Scott Bradley, executive director of the Arkansas Sheriff Association, told lawmakers at the same session with Runion that sheriffs have a duty to keep their citizens safe.
“And to do that, we’ve got to lock these violent criminals up,” Bradley said “They’ve got to stay there. We’ve got to have the room.
“We’re on the same page. We need you guys to come together somehow and figure this out.”
‘BEST OPTION’
Dubke addressed comments by Crocker in which the sheriff referenced the potential cost of the new prison as currently planned and the state potentially going into debt.
“It is a lie that the state is in debt, that we haven’t invested in mental health and that the state performed no due diligence on the site,” Dubke said. “The truth is we have recorded large surpluses every year the governor has been in office, invested millions in mental health, and the 2,200 county jail inmates will receive far less access to mental health services than they would receive in a state prison, and experts in construction and development spent a vast amount of time determining this was the best option in the state.”
Crocker criticized state budgeting in his video as related to construction of a prison at Mill Creek Mountain that he said would be much more expensive than other locations due to a lack of water on site, among other issues.
He called the selected site along Arkansas 215 South “a rock pile” and said the current prison plan is “fiscally irresponsible.”
“Governor, when you took office there was a huge trust fund built up in the state of Arkansas,” Crocker said. “We weren’t in debt. I feel like you are driving us to debtedness.
“I don’t want to be in debt for this state, that our youth will have to take care of because you were fiscally irresponsible and spent money.”
SURPLUSES REPORTED
In May, the state Department of Finance and Administration projected a general revenue fund surplus at about $185 million for fiscal 2026, a reduction from its earlier $299.5 million estimate partly due to uncertainty as it relates to President Donald Trump’s changes in tariffs, department Secretary Jim Hudson said at the time.
The department also reduced its projected general revenue surplus for fiscal year 2025 in May. The expected dip from $278.6 million to $214.8 million was attributed to an extension of income tax filing and payment deadlines by the governor due to severe weather.
Then, the state government general revenue surplus reached $367.9 million to wrap up fiscal 2025, the Finance Department reported in July. That fiscal year went from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025.
In 19 out of the last 22 fiscal years, Arkansas has reported a general revenue surplus, according to the Finance Department.