Officials hold discussion on Franklin County prison development

ROGERS, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — The Senate and House City, County, & Local Affairs Committee met jointly at the Rogers Convention Center to discuss the controversial prison planned for Franklin County.

The proposed prison has stirred controversy among the people of Charleston, where the prison is planned to be built. Residents say they don’t like the risk of inmates escaping near the city and are concerned it would bring down the property value of their homes.

The Chickamauga Nation also says the proposed prison site may contain culturally significant burial grounds.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders wrote an op-ed urging legislators to fund the prison, declaring that “enough is enough” when it comes to Arkansas’ prison bed shortages and high crime rates.

Sanders wrote that Arkansas has gone “two decades” without significant investments in its prison system, adding that this has led to “chronic prison bed shortages,” releasing violent offenders back into society because of lack of space” and “worst-in-the-nation crime rates.”