PINE BLUFF — As part of an agreement allowing her to avoid the possibility of a felony conviction and prison time, former gubernatorial aide Betsey Wright pleaded no contest Wednesday to misdemeanor charges of attempting to smuggle contraband into a prison and was fined $2,000.
Accused of attempting to sneak tattoo needles, a box cutter, a knife and tweezers into the Varner Supermax Unit in Lincoln County during a visit on May 22, Wright originally faced 51 felony counts of attempting to furnish prohibited articles into a correctional facility.
Under the agreement, prosecutors agreed to drop49 of the counts and reduce two others - involving the knife and box cutter - to misdemeanor charges of possession of an instrument of a crime, defined as something designed for or commonly used for a criminal purpose.
In addition to the fine, Wright agreed to pay $250 in court costs and sheriff’s office fees, to spend a year on unsupervised probation and to not have any contact with prison inmates without the approval of the Arkansas Department of Correction, which has banned her from ever visiting inmates again.
Wearing a houndstooth pattern, button-up shirt decorated with sewn-on patches of cats, and accompanied by her attorney, Jeff Rosenzweig of Little Rock, Wright entered the plea at a hearing Wednesday before 11th West Judicial District Circuit Judge Jodi Raines Dennis. Dennis accepted the plea and handed down the sentence recommended by prosecutors.
Afterward, Wright handed reporters a written statement in which she maintained that she did not attempt to smuggle anything into the prison but realized that a jury “might decide the matter differently.” Three of the felony counts were punishable by up to 10 years in prison each, and the other 48 counts, referring to the tattoo needles, were punishable by up to six years each.
“We conceded, by pleading no contest, that a jury could have decided that the knife and the box cutter were somehow improper,” Rosenzweig said. “It was done by carelessness, and she did not plead guilty to anything. She did not feel that she had criminal intent to do anything.”
Prosecuting Attorney Stevan Dalrymple said prosecutors could have proven all the charges but decided that the agreement provided “sufficient punishment” for Wright’s actions.
“The key thing is that she’s prohibited from visiting ADC or having contact with ADC inmates,” Dalrymple said. “A misdemeanor and a $2,000 fine is a significant penalty.”
The tattoo needles and other items were found among items that Wright had placed in a clear plastic bag and submitted to be scanned by an X-ray machine at the entrance building to the prison, where she had been scheduled to visit death-row inmate Don Davis.
The tattoo needles were in a Doritos bag, which appeared to have been opened and resealed, prison officials have said. The tweezers were inside a pen, and the knife and box cutterwere attached to Wright’s key ring.
Wright told prison officials that she had grabbed the pen by mistake, and she maintained Wednesday that she had simply forgotten that the knife and box cutter, which she described as a “craft knife,” were on her key chain.
“I had previously made between 150 and 200 visits there, and this same oversight had occurred on a few other occasions,” Wright said in her statement. “Sometimes, when I arrived at the prison, all I focused on was quickly getting to the ladies room just inside the entrance door. This resulted in occasionally collecting things too quickly and without enough attention.”
Sometimes, she said, the guards at the entrance building didn’t notice the items, and she was inadvertently allowed to take them inside. Other times, the guards told her to take the items back to her car.
As for the Doritos bag, Wright maintained that she had found it at the bottom of a vending machine in the entrance building and did not know it contained the needles.
“I thought I had a free bag of chips,” Wright said in her statement. “Instead, I inadvertently intercepted a smuggling operation by some other, unknown person. I would also mention that I do not approve of tattooing.”
Prison officials have contended that that particular brand of Doritos was not sold in prison vending machines.
Wright, 66, served as then-Gov. Bill Clinton’s chief of staff for seven years and worked on several of his campaigns. During Clinton’s successful run for the White House in 1992, she coined the phrase “bimbo eruptions” - something she later said she regretted - to refer to the allegations of womanizing that dogged the candidate.
More recently, Wright has spoken up for prisoners’ rights and against the death penalty, and has called for more of the execution process to be open to public view.
She has been banned from state prisons since shortly after the May 22 episode but said Wednesday that she continues to communicate with death row inmates through letters and phone calls.
She said her work with the inmates includes ensuring that they receive cards on their birthdays, buying them art supplies and selling their artwork. She said she met Davis several years ago and considers him a friend.
“It’s my belief that every human being deserves a friend,” Wright said.
Corrections Department spokesman Dina Tyler said the last person she could remember who was convicted of attempting to smuggle an item into prison was Summer Benson, 32 of Fort Smith. Prison officials say Benson was found to be carrying a bag of loose tobacco inside the Grimes Unit in New port. Benson pleaded guilty last year to a felony count of furnishing a prohibited article and was sentenced to three years probation, Tyler said.
In Wright’s case, prosecutors had informed Correction Department interim Director Ray Hobbs of the plea agreement, and he did not object to it, Tyler said.
She noted that Wright had been suspected of attempting to smuggle contraband into prison once before. In 2005 Wright was in the prison entry building when a guard asked to see something in her hand Wright refused and went “running out of the building with it,” Tyler said. She said prison officials suspect that Wright was holding money, which is banned from state prisons.
“People are always trying to bring contraband in, and our job is to stop them,” Tyler said “That’s all we’re trying to do, no matter who the person is.”
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 04/08/2010