"I expect to receive a full briefing after the review has been finalized."
--Asa Hutchinson
Well, if the thing is a briefing, can it be full? That's the problem, complication, trouble and wonderful advantage of a briefing. They're brief. Many times blessedly so. The shorter the meeting, most times, the much better.
But we think we know what the governor of Arkansas meant. He wants to know what th' heck happened. Who can blame him? If he's like many Arkies, he's spitting mad. But unlike other Arkies, he's the governor. He not only has responsibility for the government, he also needs to project a cool-headed steadiness at the helm, too. He says he wants a full briefing--with more emphasis on the full, no doubt. He should get it.
The rest of us should demand an explanation, too. For who can forget the story from only a few years back of young Angela Allen? She was only 16 when this, this, this person murdered her, and was duly convicted of the crime. Police said the assailant killed the poor girl, stuffed her body in a barrel and buried her. He was also convicted of abuse of a corpse. As unpleasant as it is to mention, the convicted's name is Lloyd Jones.
He's back in custody. After escaping June 13.
According to the papers, this convict had an Inmate Classification that allowed him to work unshackled outside his prison near Marianna in Lee County--as long as he was under armed guard. Which turned out not to be a good idea once this convict walked away from that armed guard. How did this happen?
How he walked away is easy enough to imagine. What's harder to figure is how this inmate was allowed to work outside the gates in the first place.
What does it take to get an Inmate Classification that doesn't allow a convict to work on outside projects? Two murder convictions?
During his three days on the lam, anything could have happened. If the people of Lee County--and the rest of Arkansas--have to put up with prisons blistering the landscape, and we do, then those prison walls should separate us from the bad guys. What is the policy of the Department of Correction? Was it followed in this case? If so, will the policy be changed? If not, why not?
The director of the Department of Correction, Wendy Kelley, said a committee is working on a review. Fine. Let's hope said committee answers some questions, and fast. And either the Department of Correction or the governor himself provides a copy of said review to the public.
For the record and just so's you know, Gentle Reader, the convicted killer of Angela Allen is now in a maximum-security prison in Tucker, and his Inmate Classification has been changed to the strictest level. If you're thinking, "About time," you're probably thinking the same thing a lot of Arkies are just now. Inside and out of the Governor's Mansion.
Editorial on 06/25/2016