LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An opened letter penned by a member of the Arkansas Board of Corrections is asking for Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and other officials to meet with the board to "best address" the prison bed shortage and "more productive topics."
This open letter comes as the Board of Corrections and Gov. Sanders have been engaged in a power struggle over prison power. The dispute has even led to lawsuits, with a judge most recently ruling in favor of the board on Jan. 4, emphasizing that the board has the ability to deny prison expansion plans by the governor.
Lee Watson, who wrote the letter, sent it to the governor as well as Attorney General Tim Griffin, legislators, and other officials on Jan. 17. In the letter, Watson addresses claims made against the board that they are playing political games and reiterated an effort to meet with the Sanders administration to solve the prison issues.
"Even though we have our constitutional and policy disagreements, we are very much on the same team," Watson said. "We are not adversarial to you, and I would ask that we let the courts handle our legal business so we can focus on more productive topics."
He noted again that the board has declined to add more beds for safety reasons and the "budgetary constraints placed" on the board by the state's executive and legislative branches have put it in a "hard place."
"Against this backdrop, I must object to what appears to be efforts to politicize a non-political board that was created for the specific reason and purpose of insulating constitutional boards like the Boards of Corrections from politics," Watson said.
Sanders has previously called the corrections board's request to use the Arkansas National Guard to alleviate staffing issues "political games" and claimed the board members were "incapable of rational, reasonable, or fiscally responsible decisions" under the leadership of Chairman Benny Magness.
Watson countered that argument by noting that "every member of the Board was most recently appointed by a Republican governor."
He also wrote in the letter about what he called "media catchphrases" used by Sanders and other officials. Watson said the board has no role in "catch and release."
"We cannot release any prisoner. Period. That is the purview of the judicial system, the Parole Board, the Governor, and the legislature," he said. The board's role is executing and the compliance of state laws, according to Watson.
Watson also said the board is not engaged in a "power play," saying that if anything, "the only power play here was the attempt to diminish the Board's constitutional power."
He defended the firing of Joe Profiri, the former corrections secretary, by saying the relationship with him became "untenable and unworkable."
"If Mr. Profiri had a plan or had taken any action to address your primary request of adding a new facility for the Department of Corrections, he failed at communicating any information about it to the Board," Watson said. "He kept us completely in the dark."
Watson ended the letter by saying the board is open to "working together" with the Sanders administration on issues in the prison system.
He also said the board will continue to do "everything in our power" to add beds safely and help with the county jail backup, but the prisons would need funding "quickly."
Griffin issued a statement regarding Watson's letter and encouraged the board members to work together to implement the Protect Act instead of "illegally hiring special counsel."
"Board members can only act as a Board, so if individual members want to work together to implement the Protect Act and keep Arkansans safe, they should convince the Board to follow Arkansas law instead of illegally hiring special counsel and violating the Freedom of Information Act," Griffin said.
Sen. Ben Gilmore, who also received the letter, said it shows the "Board of Correction's disdain toward the accountability of the people and their elected representatives in the legislature."
"It paints a vivid picture that the Board will continue its failed practices and policies and play a dangerous game of reducing bed space so they can continue to use the [Emergency Powers Act] to release countless violent criminals," Gilmore said. "However, considering Mr. Watson is one member and his letter only bears his signature, it is safe to assume he does not speak for the entire Board.”
Shortly after the letter was sent, Alexa Henning, a spokesperson for Sanders, released a statement and said the governor's focus "remains on the safety of Arkansans and ending the failed policy of catch and release."
"By their own admission, the Board of Corrections has been fostering the same problems through the same failed policies and the same failed leadership for years, yet refuses to make any changes," the governor's office said. "The Governor's focus remains on the safety of Arkansans and ending the failed policy of catch and release of violent criminals in this state, which is why she hired Joe Profiri to advise on these issues. The Board of Corrections can continue to try and cover up for their record of failure; Governor Sanders will do everything in her power to protect Arkansans and their communities."