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More Act 309 inmates needed, board member says Wednesday, Jan 23, 2008 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau NORTH LITTLE ROCK - The state Board of Corrections voted Tuesday to create a committee to study the feasibility of adding more state prisoners to the Act 309 program, which assigns inmates to cities and counties for work. Board member Ken Jones, the Union County sheriff, told the board several counties have expressed the need for some prisoners to work at their jail facilities. He mentioned Boone County, which is building a new jail, as one county that had requested more state prisoners for work detail. "We just want to study to see if there is a possibility that we can increase the number," Jones said. About 275 inmates are authorized to participate in the program established by Act 309 of 1981. Jones said an additional 20-25 prisoners would be needed. Under the program, the state pays local agencies $15 per day to house the inmates. To help with the additional inmates, Jones said some sheriffs have said they would be willing to accept less than $15 a day for inmates while others have said they would be willing to keep the 309 prisoners for free. "We only have an exact amount of dollars to pay for 309s," Jones said. "If we increase the number, it would cost more or we could reduce the amount we pay to the counties." In deciding to create the study committee, the prison board agreed board chairman Benny Magness would appoint the panel, which would include some board members, some prison officials and possibly some county sheriffs. Jones said after Tuesday's meeting that he did not think recent reports of the misuse of 309 inmates in Lonoke County are a concern. Last year, former Lonoke police chief Jay Campbell and his wife Kelly Campbell were convicted in a corruption case involving drugs, sex and abuse of the Act 309 inmate-labor program. Jay Campbell was sentenced to 40 years in prison and his wife received a 20 year sentence. Also former Lonoke Mayor Thomas Privett pleaded no contest to theft of services, a misdemeanor, for having state inmates perform chores at his home. "Those are issues of the past," Jones said Tuesday. "I don't see those types of issues now. We really keep a tight reign on the program ... we're doing a really, really good job of supervising the program now." The prison board voted Tuesday to support the Arkansas Sheriffs Association as it studies raising the state reimbursement rate for housing state inmates in county jails. Currently, the state pays counties $28 a day to hold state inmates because of overcrowding in the state system. Board member Mary Parker said she did not want the board to be viewed as advocating the association's effort, while member Leroy Brownlee urged the board to support the association. "We're all in this together," he said, noting the importance of sheriffs around the state to the state prison system. Also Tuesday, prison officials told the board just three female state prisoners were being held in county jails because of prison overcrowding. "That's some kind of a milestone," Prison Director Larry Norris told the board. Norris later attributed the low number to the recent opening of 100 new beds at the McPherson Unit, a women's lockup in Newport. He said he expects the three women now in county jails to be moved in to the state system this week. |
