by Andrew DeMillo, Arkansas Advocate
February 1, 2026
Two years ago, the Arkansas Board of Corrections seemed to be one of the few obstacles for Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders as she pushed for sweeping changes to how the state’s prison system is run.
But a newfound majority on the panel gives the Republican governor power to flex as she begins a year that’ll continue the fight over her plan to build a 3,000-bed prison.
Sanders’ four appointees to the panel that oversees the state’s prison and parole systems wasted no time in asserting their control over the board in their first meeting last month.
With Arkansas under a state of emergency because of an impending winter storm, the new majority moved swiftly to fire the private attorney that the board had hired for its ongoing legal fight with Sanders. It also elected three of the Sanders appointees to the board’s top spots.
Sanders is hardly the first governor touting plans to overhaul the state’s prison system and sentencing laws.
Nearly every governor in recent history has had to tackle controversies within Arkansas prisons or overhaul the state’s sentencing laws.
Prison controversies are the stuff of legend in Arkansas, including the brutal conditions that inspired the 1980 film Brubaker or HIV-tainted blood from people incarcerated at the Cummins Unit being knowingly sold.
More recently, officials last year faced criticism from lawmakers following the escape of the convicted murderer known as the “Devil in the Ozarks.”
But Sanders’ approach of portraying the state’s Board of Corrections, normally an ally for governors, as the foil to her efforts is a different story.
The approach dates to 2023, with Sanders taking the unusual step of holding a news conference to publicly criticize the Board of Corrections for not approving a proposal to open temporary prison beds she said was needed to alleviate overcrowding.
The plan for temporary beds drew questions from board members about whether the prison system had enough staff to handle them. It opened a wider struggle over who controls the state’s prison system.
That fight centers around a law Sanders advocated and signed that would have taken away the board’s authority to hire and fire the corrections secretary and other top officials. That law has been struck down by a Pulaski County judge, and the board fired Sanders’ hand-picked choice for secretary.
The new majority may give Sanders the authority she’s been seeking even without that law, at least indirectly. The new board’s decision to fire its private attorney follows ongoing litigation over whether the panel had the authority to hire him in the first place.
That new power, however, likely doesn’t change the dynamics of the fight that’s ahead over Sanders’ push to build a 3,000-bed in Franklin County. Sanders has argued the prison is needed because of the overcrowding that’s led to an overflow of state inmates being housed in local jails.
The prison project prompted an outcry from local officials who said they were blindsided by it. They questioned whether the site has the infrastructure needed to house a massive project like this.
The decision over further funding for the project rests with the state Legislature, and it’s likely to overshadow the legislative session focused on the budget set to begin in April.
It also will be a top issue for several races in next month’s primary, along with Tuesday’s special Republican primary runoff for the Senate district that includes the planned prison site.
Even if she no longer has the board as an obstacle to her agenda, Sanders still has a challenge ahead.
Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Andrew DeMillo for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.
