Ranking state House member questions Ark. prisons

By The Associated Press

Recent problems at Arkansas prisons ranging from escapes to an inmate's near death could warrant a "full-scale investigation by some outside agency," a ranking state House member said Monday.

Democratic majority leader Steve Harrelson told The Associated Press he wanted to speak with the head of the prison system before calling for such a probe. Prison director Larry Norris is to appear Tuesday before a legislative oversight panel.

Harrelson, who is a member of that panel, said an escape by two convicted murderers who walked out of a state prison by donning guard uniforms made at the facility raised serious questions about management at the state Department of Correction.

"There are failures at multiple levels there," Harrelson said. "I don't think that just firing low-level guards will be sufficient. I think we need to look at the failures of different people involved."

Harrelson, a lawyer from Texarkana, pointed out that prison problems aren't just in Arkansas - a nod to earlier comments by Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe. However, Harrelson said lawmakers had a responsibility to see if they could find a way to stop these incidents.

Harrelson said if its determined that an investigation is warranted, he didn't immediately know what kind of agency would conduct it or when it might take place. He said all of that depends on what Norris tells the panel on Tuesday or what other evidence comes forward.

Norris, who was appointed prison director by then-Gov. Jim Guy Tucker in 1993, has served under Democratic and Republican administrations. A prison spokeswoman has said Norris won't comment publicly on the recent spate of problems until the legislative hearing Tuesday.

Harrelson's comments come after former Republican gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson called for an independent investigation into problems in Arkansas' state prison system, which includes about 20 facilities and 15,000 inmates. A spokesman for Beebe previously said the governor has "full faith" in Norris' ability to lead.

Among recent incidents, guards at the state's Tucker Unit left a naked inmate covered in waste for a weekend in January. The inmate nearly died from septic shock. An investigation into the inmate's near death uncovered allegations that guards received lap dances from a nurse while on duty. Guards also recently shot a man to death they said tried to flee a contraband checkpoint outside the maximum-security prison.

For more information see Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.