LITTLE ROCK — Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Friday called for the resignation of the chairman of the Arkansas Board of Corrections following his request for the assistance of more than 100 National Guardsmen in the state’s prison system in what she called “political stunts.”
In a letter penned to Chairman Benny Magness, Sanders called his request another example of his “desire to play political games” and accused the chairman of using the guardsmen as “pawns” in the panel’s widening dispute with the governor to add more prison beds to which the board has not approved.
“If the Board wants to reactivate beds, then they should reinstate the Secretary and implement his plans without delay,” Sanders wrote. “I will not inject our guardsmen and women into a purely political situation caused by the very person requesting them.”
The board last week suspended state Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri and sued the state over a new law that took away the panel’s authority over Profiri and two other top officials. A judge on Friday issued a temporary order blocking the law and set a hearing for next week in the case.
Members of the board have said opening the temporary beds in the state’s prisons would jeopardize the safety of inmates and staff in facilities that are already overcrowded and facing staff shortages.
Magness, in a letter to Sanders on Wednesday, requested the activation of 40 guardsmen to serve in “non-inmate supervisory security positions” at the Maximum Security and Tucker Units to assist with the request of additional space for more inmates.
