FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ark. — A senator who represents part of Franklin County is asking the state to stop planning a newly-announced 3,000 bed prison in the county, saying he wasn't notified of the plan at all.
Arkansas Senator Bryan King, who covers the northern part of Franklin County, claimed he didn't know about the state's purchase of land to build a prison until most of his constituents did on Thursday, Oct. 31.
On Oct. 31, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and officials with the Board of Corrections announced the purchase of 815 acres near the city of Charleston in Franklin County.
"For Charleston, Franklin County, and the River Valley, [the prison] will offer hundreds of permanent, recession-proof jobs and millions of dollars in investment," Sanders said in her announcement.
However, there's been a local uproar about a lack of transparency from the Franklin County community.
Those concerns seemed to be echoed by Sen. King, who said on Friday that he sent a letter to the Board of Corrections asking to stop the advancement of the prison until meetings could be held in Franklin County.
"I was never notified of the possible Prison coming to Franklin County," King said in a post on X, with a screenshot attached of a letter addressed to the Board of Corrections.
The letter:
Dear Chairman Magness and the Arkansas Board of Corrections Members:
By this letter, I am asking you not to advance the Franklin County prison plan until a series of discussions with the people of Franklin County have happened first.
Please feel free to contact me about the matter.
Sincerely,
Bryan B. King
During a radio interview on 92.7 KDYN, the governor said "These people can either be in this prison where they are guarded, or they can be in your community."
Arkansas Board of Corrections Chairman Benny Magness said the move will address the longstanding prison capacity problem in the Natural State, saying that he is "grateful for [Sanders'] bold action to tackle Arkansas' prison bed shortage."
The Board of Corrections will have to vote to approve the prison site before construction on the project begins.
Upon hearing the news, a family living on 40 acres of property in Franklin County has already made plans to sell their home.
"Immediately I thought, 'The value of our home now has just plummeted,'" Martin said. "Nobody wants to buy a house that's this close to the prison or any facility like that."