The Arkansas Board of Corrections on Thursday suspended the state’s corrections secretary and sued the state over a law that prevents it from firing him, escalating a dispute with Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders over who runs the state’s prison system.
The board voted 3-2 to suspend with pay Secretary Joe Profiri, who was appointed by Sanders and confirmed by the board earlier this year. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that board member William “Dubs” Byers accused Profiri of showing “public contempt” for the board’s authority.
“What we are considering today is no small matter,” Byers said, the paper reported. “The secretary has made it clear in public and in private that he works exclusively for the governor and not for the board.”
Profiri told reporters that he planned to remain on the job and answer to the governor.
The move follows plans by Sanders’ administration to push ahead with the opening of hundreds of new temporary prison beds that the board had not approved. Sanders publicly criticised the board last month for not fully approving the request for temporary beds.
The Republican governor said Thursday she stood behind Profiri and criticised the board.
“The Board of Corrections would rather continue the failed catch and release policy than work with the Secretary to make our state safer, stronger and more secure,” Sanders wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “I will continue to do everything in my power to keep Arkansans safe.”
In a lawsuit filed after the vote, lawyers for the board said the governor’s plan to move forward with the temporary beds would jeopardise the safety of inmates and staff.
“This action, taken without proper authority and in disregard of the Board of Corrections’ established procedures and oversight responsibilities, poses a serious risk to the constitutional rights of inmates and the safety of correctional staff and the public,” the lawsuit said.
In the lawsuit, the board asked a state judge to block enforcement of parts of a new law signed by Sanders that would remove the board’s ability to hire and fire the secretary. Under the law, Profiri serves at the pleasure of the governor. Another law that went into effect in January would also give Profiri, rather than the board, the power to hire and fire the heads of the Department of Corrections and the Department of Community Corrections.
The lawsuit argued that the changes violated the state constitution by usurping the board’s authority. They were passed as part of an overhaul of the state’s sentencing laws. The sentencing overhaul removes parole eligibility for certain offenders and takes effect on 1 January.
Attorney General Tim Griffin, who last week accused the board of failing to comply with the state’s Freedom of Information Act when it voted to hire outside lawyers, said he is reviewing the board’s latest moves.
“We are reviewing the board’s actions, but remain troubled that they continue to violate the law regarding compliance with the Freedom of Information Act and the unauthorised hiring of outside counsel,” Griffin said in a statement.
The state’s prisons currently hold 16,442 inmates, exceeding their capacity of 15,022, a Department of Corrections spokeswoman said. More than 1,600 additional state inmates are being held in county jails, an overflow that sheriffs across the state have long complained about.