by Ainsley Platt, Arkansas Advocate
August 25, 2026
The 3,000-bed Franklin County prison project that’s faced legislative resistance hasn’t been canceled and remains an option, the head of the Arkansas Department of Corrections told lawmakers Tuesday.
“Nobody has said that. We haven’t discussed that,” Corrections Secretary Lindsay Wallace said when asked if the project had been canceled. “We very clearly need to have more beds. Like I said earlier, given that we did not have funding to move forward with that project … we’re looking at other alternatives while we talk about the larger issue of the bed space, the funding for the Franklin County project or whatever the case may be.”
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Wallace’s comments to the House and Senate Judiciary committees come a week after the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported the project had been canceled and that department staff were considering alternatives such as expanding existing prison units. The report cited an email sent in April by a controller for the department that said it had been canceled, as well as an “expansion opportunity plan” from June that did not mention the Franklin County project.
Following the story, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ office said the Republican governor still believed the Franklin County site was the best option for expanding prison capacity.
“An exchange of ideas by staff doesn’t set state policy and these options have not been approved by the Governor or the legislature,” spokesperson Sam Dubke said last week.
The Franklin County prison has faced fierce resistance from the local community as well as in the Legislature since Sanders announced it in 2024. Proponents for the prison argue it’s necessary, pointing to the increasing number of people sentenced to Arkansas prisons that is projected to continue because of 2025 changes to Arkansas’ sentencing laws.
As of Aug. 3, the state prison system was operating at around 109% of its listed bed capacity. Some units exceeded that, such as the Benny Magness Unit, which was operating at just over 132% of its listed capacity.
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Wallace spoke at the first of several meetings planned by the joint committees to discuss solutions to the state’s overcrowding, and how to reduce the number of beds the state requires.
Republican Sen. Alan Clark of Lonsdale told the Advocate the hearings have been in the works since before April’s fiscal session. Clark said if the committees have a strong consensus by December, they will make recommendations for legislators to consider during next year’s regular session, which begins in January.
“We’re going to have a major discussion between now and December,” Clark said. “I think there’s a great deal of agreement that we’ve got to act, and so I think we should see a lot of activity on this subject.”
Legislators heard from members of the Board of Corrections, sheriffs, prosecutors, prison reform advocates and Wallace during the hearing Tuesday, who were tasked with answering a single question.
“I wanted to clear the fog and lay the foundation of, ‘Do we need prison beds?’” Clark said. “The answer to that is yes.”
Now that the question is answered, he said, legislators can begin finding the “complicated and hard” answers to how the state can eventually reduce the number of prison beds it will need.
“Because we do imprison a lot of people in Arkansas,” Clark said. “We should be looking at every solution. A lot of times, you look at every solution just so you know it’s not a solution.”
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.
