Arkansas panel fires Department of Community Correction head

Community Correction Department Director Sheila Sharp
Community Correction Department Director Sheila Sharp

The Arkansas Board of Corrections has fired the director of the state's parole and probation system.

The board met Thursday for two hours behind closed doors in executive session before voting unanimously in public to fire Department of Community Correction Director Sheila Sharp, who has headed the agency since 2013. The board did not immediately explain its reason for firing Sharp.

Sharp distributed documents in which she claimed she was terminated for not following the proper guidelines when submitting a budget request.

Sharp was appointed director in 2013 after then-Director David Eberhard retired amid investigations into the department's handling of an eight-time parole absconder who was arrested and charged with kidnapping and capital murder in Little Rock.

The board appointed former Deputy Director Kevin Murphy as interim director.

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