For 16 years, Larry Norris served as director of the Arkansas Department of Correction before retiring at the beginning of 2010. Now, at 65, Norris will return to the prison system as interim director when Director Ray Hobbs retires Oct. 31.
Hobbs, 62, announced his plans to retire a few months ago. On Thursday, the Board of Corrections voted unanimously to appoint Norris. Board Secretary Janis Walmsley was absent.
Norris wasn't at Thursday's board meeting and wasn't reached for comment.
"He is well-rested and ready to go," said Dina Tyler, spokesman for the Department of Correction. "He's coming in at a critical time. We're changing governors, and the next legislative session is coming very quickly."
Both Norris and Hobbs spent the entirety of their careers in the state prison system.
Norris grew up in Garrett Bridge, an unincorporated community about 40 miles southeast of Pine Bluff, and served as an enlisted sailor aboard the USS Ponchatoula, a refueling ship, in the Tonkin Gulf during the Vietnam War.
He started working in the prison system in 1971, drawing blood from inmates for a contractor at the now-closed plasma center at the Cummins Unit near Grady in Lincoln County.
He was hired by the department in 1974, the same year he earned his certification as a registered nurse. He served as infirmary administrator, assistant warden, warden, assistant director and interim director before becoming director in December 1993.
When Norris retired in 2010, he was the longest-serving corrections director in the country. Norris, known as "Chief" during much of his tenure, often said he was in the "problem business."
During his last year, such problems included the escape of two murderers who walked out of a unit dressed in officers' uniforms.
Like Norris, Hobbs also will retire after a year that included a much-publicized escape -- that of killer Timothy Buffington -- who was caught the day before Hobbs' announced his impending retirement. Hobbs told the board that he was relieved to be going out on a "high note."
The director's job entails more than managing administrators, correctional officers and a population not generally known for compliance. The director also answers to the board and lawmakers, who frequently have pointed questions or criticisms.
There's also the lack of space in the state's prisons -- which has forced county jails to house inmates sentenced to prison terms -- even as the state inmate population continues to increase each year.
Correction officials are on a quest to build a new prison, which they say is desperately needed. Finding a way to fund the proposed $85 million project will be a challenge, board members have said.
At a recent board meeting, Hobbs expressed relief at not having to be on constant call in the coming years. He looks forward to a vacation home and relaxation.
When he leaves, Hobbs will have spent 40 years in the prison system. He started as a corrections officer in 1975 before becoming a warden, deputy director and chief deputy director of the agency. He took the helm after Norris' retirement.
Norris is credited with building on improvements made by his predecessors after 1970, when U.S. District Judge J. Smith Henley described the prison system as a "dark and evil world" and declared it unconstitutional.
The system was found constitutional in 1982, and by 1997, all of the state's prisons had been accredited by the American Correctional Association. The department has since won accreditation for all of its remaining facilities, including work-release centers and its administrative offices.
"He moved the agency so far forward," Tyler said. "I think he's a great choice."
In 2010, he was awarded the E.R. Cass Award from the American Correctional Association. During his retirement, Norris has remained active in the Southern States Correctional Association and the Association of State Correctional Administrators.
Norris also has done some work for correctional-based companies, Tyler said, adding, "He retired, but he didn't just go away. He has been involved with the agency and its employees."
When he retired, Norris said he considered getting all of the units accredited and the construction of the Varner Supermax Unit, where death row is now housed, to be the Department of Correction's most significant accomplishments during his years as director.
Norris also made changes to address the chronically high turnover rate among corrections officers by stiffening training requirements and creating pay tiers for officers, so that those who work in higher security prisons earned a higher wage.
When Norris announced he would retire, Beebe lauded his contributions to the department, saying he would miss Norris' "candid and straightforward style."
Board Chairman Benny Magness said Thursday that Norris' knowledge of Arkansas' correctional system is unequaled, and that the sense of continuity he will bring is invaluable.
It's likely that Norris will remain interim director throughout the legislative session, Tyler said.
"Going into that session with his knowledge and experience -- it's a good thing."
State Desk on 10/24/2014