LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced on Wednesday evening that Lona McCastlain has now been designated to be the Chair of the Post-Prison Transfer Board.
McCastlain will serve underneath Governor Sanders and is replacing Jamol Jones as the Chair of the board.
She previously served as a prosecutor in Lonoke County until the end of 2008, when she left to join her husband, an Army colonel, as he served a tour in Europe.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders had previously elevated former Benton police officer Jamol Jones to the chairman of the state Post-Prison Transfer Board. It was her second appointment to the Board of Corrections within a month.
Jamol Jones' time as the Arkansas parole board chairman lasted only one week and the 35-year-old Benton native resigned on February 2, the governor's office confirmed.
"Effective today, February 2, 2024, I am resigning from the Post Prison Transfer Board," Jones said. "It has been the honor of my life to serve the people of Arkansas in this capacity. I am grateful to the Sanders administration for this opportunity, but this decision is being made in the best interest of me and my family."
Jones was facing questions over his qualifications after documents revealed he was fired from the Benton Police Department in 2018 for lying about having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl.