State purchases land in Charleston to build new prison
LITTLE ROCK – Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Arkansas Department of Corrections Secretary Lindsay Wallace, Arkansas Board of Corrections Chairman Benny Magness, and other state and local officials today announced that the State of Arkansas has purchased land in Charleston to build a new prison.
“I promised the people of Arkansas we would address our state’s prison bed shortage and today, I’m announcing the first major investment in our state’s prison capacity since my dad was governor,” said Governor Sanders. “This new facility will help end our failed system of catch-and-early-release and protect our communities by keeping violent offenders off our streets. For Charleston, Franklin County, and the River Valley, it will offer hundreds of permanent, recession-proof jobs and millions of dollars in investment.”
* In 2023, two sites for a prison in Hempstead County were reportedly being looked at: in the Blevins area and “Old” Guernsey area near the Hope City Landfill. That sparked a petition from Blevins area residents opposing the prospect. Cathy Woll, who presented a petition to the Hempstead County Quorum Court in March 2023 from the community of Blevins against the prison stated that only the benefits of a prison had been presented to them and not how prisons affect adjacent communities. She raised concerns about the proposed prison bringing crime and drugs to the community. Woll also suggested that a prison quietly drags a town down and illustrated her concerns with some figures. Other community members spoke to the JPs of similar concerns.
*Steve Harris, then President of the Hempstead County Economic Development Corporation, at the 2023 meeting said in response to being asked why Hempstead County might need a prison, stated Hope was manufacturing dependent and needed to diversify. He said prisons had been referred to as a “recession-proof industry.”
The state purchased this secluded, 815-acre property for $2,950,000 after a months-long search. This parcel offers the infrastructure needed for a new prison, including cell reception, water lines, electricity, and a nearby fire department, and is also close to more than 100,000 workers who could staff the new facility. The property is large enough to offer privacy to both neighbors and inmates.
Though it is not yet possible to offer a full cost estimate for the new prison, this project will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in one-time construction spending in Charleston, creating thousands of jobs. Once the prison is complete, it will employ nearly 800 individuals at an average salary of more than $46,600, based on estimates, and will enhance Charleston’s roads, utilities, and infrastructure.
Arkansas currently has a shortage of more than 3,000 prison beds, requiring the state to spend almost $30 million each year to house inmates in county jails. Governor Sanders and her administration have worked to open up more than 1,100 prison beds to address this problem, but the shortage will persist until a new prison is built. In addition to burdening county governments with the challenges of long-term incarceration, the prison bed shortage also denies inmates the opportunity to access evidence-based programs in state prisons that fight addiction, promote mental health, and reduce recidivism.
The Board of Corrections must vote to approve the prison site before construction begins.
(*Includes excerpts from previous Hope-Prescott News articles from 2023 written by Eric Mclaurin.)