Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ plan to build a 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County faced renewed scrutiny last week after her office did not send senior staff to testify at a Arkansas Joint Performance Review Committee hearing.
Lawmakers said they invited Joe Profiri, Sanders’ former corrections secretary and now a senior adviser, but received no response. Committee Co-Chair Terry Rice said the lack of reply was “a slap at this body,” while Bryan King noted he had seen Profiri at the Capitol that day.
Two lower-level officials Anne Laidlaw of the Arkansas Division of Building Authority and Shelby Johnson of the Arkansas Geographic Information Systems Office testified instead. They defended the site selection process but struggled to answer questions outside their scope.
Benny Magness and Lee Watson of the Arkansas Board of Corrections, who voted to fire Profiri, said he no longer communicates with the board despite still being involved in the project. Lawmakers said the administration has not pursued alternate sites, raising doubts the prison could open before Sanders leaves office.
The hearing followed a formal complaint against the project signed by more than 1,200 Franklin County residents.
For more from the Arkansas Advocate, click here.
WebReadyTM Powered by WireReady® NSI