Arkansas Explained: What is the Franklin County prison project?

On October 31, 2024, Arkansas’ governor announced the state had bought an 815-acre parcel of land in rural Franklin County.

The land, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, would be used to build a new state prison.

Local officials were “floored” and residents were furious. State legislators representing the area accused prison officials of leaving them in the dark. Even members of the Board of Corrections, which has broad authority over state prisons, didn’t know of the decision to buy the land until days before Sanders announced it on a local radio station.

Her announcement kickstarted fierce and ongoing resistance to the construction of what one outspoken critic has called “Arkansas Alcatraz,” and others have called a “mega prison.”

Sanders’ quest to build the state’s first new prison since 2004 has resulted in legislative and electoral defeats for prison supporters. The Republican governor’s unsuccessful efforts to oust GOP lawmakers in both races received national attention, and so has the prison plan.

Sanders and prison supporters have been undeterred, arguing that the correctional facility is needed for public safety and to relieve longstanding prison bed shortages — even as some have acknowledged the prison currently lacks the political support necessary to build it.

Here’s what to know about the debate over this project:

What is the Franklin County Prison Project?

In short, it is a planned 3,000-bed correctional facility currently set to be built in rural Franklin County, but there are few concrete details beyond that. The department has said a focus for the facility will be combating recidivism. Recidivists — people who return to prison within three years of being released from incarceration — make up a significant portion of the number of people sentenced to state prisons each year.

Many locals aren’t fans of the yet-to-be-built facility. Signs protesting the location can be seen around Franklin County, including one adorned with plastic skeletons.

Corrections officials have said for years that Arkansas needs more prison beds. After Sanders took office, a plan to expand an existing prison was shelved. The state then purchased 815 acres of land in Franklin County in 2024 for $2.95 million. It was announced as the site of the prison shortly after.

A preliminary estimate by Vanir, a California firm hired to act as the state’s “owner’s representative” during the prison construction process, put the price tag for building the prison at around $825 million in 2025, though critics contend the price tag will be far higher.

Why do supporters want the project in Franklin County?

Sanders and prison supporters in the Legislature argue that Arkansas’ shortage of prison beds means people accused of crimes are able to walk free when they shouldn’t because people waiting for a spot in a state prison are taking up county jail beds.

The prison population is set to grow over the next ten years due to the Protect Arkansas Act, which imposes harsher criminal penalties on repeat offenders and requires people convicted of certain crimes to serve more of their sentences before they’re eligible for parole.

The growing number of people sentenced to state prisons could worsen Arkansas’ county jail backup — or the number of people who are waiting in county jails to be transferred to a state prison after they are convicted. The Department of Corrections said it spends between $25 million and $30 million each year reimbursing counties for the costs associated with the backup.

The number of people waiting in county jails was 2,106 on March 2, though the number fluctuates. It was 1,720 in September.

Other supporters, like Republican Sen. Ben Gilmore of Crossett, say the wait to be transferred to a state prison delays people from receiving the educational and addiction treatment services they need to prevent them from reoffending after they are released.

What do opponents say about the project?

The project’s supporters and even some of its opponents will acknowledge the current mismatch between the number of people sentenced to serve time in state prisons and the number of beds available in those facilities.

But where they split is on whether 3,000 beds is truly needed and whether the selected location is the best choice. Others argue the hundreds of millions needed to build the facility could be better spent on other correctional needs, such as mental health and addiction treatment.

For many of the people living nearby the 815-acre site, the location is a non-starter. Emails sent in 2024 between state employees evaluating potential sites noted that “workforce numbers are not great, and accessibility is not great” for the Franklin County site, while water availability remains a major question.

Legislators opposed to the project have expressed skepticism about the preliminary price tag, too, and several have aired concerns mirroring those of locals opposed to the project.

What are the next steps?

Senate President Pro Tempore Bart Hester said earlier this year that local opposition to the planned prison wouldn’t stop it from being built, but progress on it appears to have stalled. Contracts approved by the Board of Corrections are in limbo, and there is little clarity on when — or if — prison officials will ask legislators again for the hundreds of millions needed to build it.

Legislators previously set aside $330 million for the project, plus another $75 million, but the department only has the authority to spend the $75 million.

Republican Sen. Jonathan Dismang filed an appropriations bill during the 2025 session that would have provided $750 million in spending authority for the prison project. But a bipartisan group of senators repeatedly voted against the bill, denying it the three-fourths majority it needed to pass the Senate.

Legislative leaders said that the votes to approve the funding aren’t there in either chamber, and that the appropriation likely won’t come in 2026. House Speaker Brian Evans told the Advocate that because Sanders did not include funding for the project in her proposed balanced budget, it’s unlikely the matter will come up during the upcoming fiscal session. Hester said during a Political Animals Club of Little Rock lunch that he didn’t plan to push for a vote during the fiscal session.

The Board of Corrections approved architect and general contractor contracts for the prison last year. Those contracts must be approved by the state’s procurement office, then the Arkansas Legislative Council.