Address assaults at Arkansas prisons, governor declares

Hutchinson talks to prison officials

Gov. Asa Hutchinson called for more "safeguards" at Arkansas' prisons Friday, after the hospitalization of three guards continued this year's string of violent incidents behind bars.

The governor met with his prisons director, Wendy Kelley, and Board of Corrections Chairman Benny Magness on Friday, a day after inmates at the Maximum Security and Varner units assaulted guards.

A guard injured in the assault at the Maximum Security Unit near Tucker remained hospitalized Friday afternoon, a prisons spokesman said.

At the Varner Unit, inmates barricaded themselves inside their barracks Thursday and had to be removed using nonlethal force, said Solomon Graves, the spokesman for the Department of Correction. Several inmates were sent to hospitals for evaluation and treatment before being returned to the unit, he said.

"It causes me great concern that inmates attacked and injured Correctional Officers," Hutchinson said in a written statement. "The multiple incidences in the past few months of violence indicates there is a need for additional safeguards."

Hutchinson's statement added that the governor had requested an "action plan" to address safety concerns at the prisons.

"Director Kelley and her team have my full support as they address this challenge," Hutchinson said.

The governor did not specify what he meant by "safeguards," and a spokesman said Hutchinson had not written a memo to the department.

In a meeting with lawmakers in August, Kelley said problems with chain-link fencing surrounding solitary recreation pens were linked to inmates breaking free and injuring other inmates and guards.

The department was working to replace the fencing, Kelley said. Graves said the Varner Unit, also a maximum security facility, did not have the type of fencing that was causing problems.

Violent outbursts have also been reported at the Cummins Unit, which is near Varner, and the East Arkansas Unit. An inmate involved in an altercation at the Tucker Unit in July later died.

Reached by phone Friday, Kelley said she did not believe the incidents at the different prisons were connected.

"I am confident that we will come up with a plan," Kelley said. "But I don't have any misconceptions that I can control all human behavior."

In addition to internal reviews, the Arkansas State Police is investigating multiple incidents of prison violence, including both incidents Thursday, but has yet to make public any reports.

At a Board of Corrections meeting in late August, Kelley said that prison violence tends to spike during the hot summer months, but the rise this year was more pronounced.

At the same meeting, she said the Correction Department needed more solitary cells to punish inmates who cause trouble.

The department has also faced an ongoing shortage of guards, though recent pay raises have been aimed at alleviating the issue.

The department houses more than 16,000 inmates but has a capacity of 15,300.

Metro on 09/30/2017

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