Republican Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday approved a resolution that would overhaul the state’s sentencing laws.
Huckabee signed into law legislation that will eliminate parole eligibility for certain violent offenses such as capital murder and rape. This means that anyone convicted of these crimes must serve their complete sentences.
The legislation will require anyone convicted of any of 18 violent offenses such as capital murder and rape to serve 100% of their sentences. https://t.co/Cp5cD9WDKF
— 5NEWS (@5NEWS) April 12, 2023
The law, which will take effect in 2025 and won’t impact people sentenced before 2024, will also require offenders convicted of several other offenses to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences.
“No more letting violent offenders back on the street without serious prison time,” Sanders said at a bill signing ceremony at State Police headquarters.
The legislation is part of a public safety package that Sanders, who took office in January, has cited as one of her main legislative goals for this year. The modifications to sentencing come at a time when crime has increased in several parts of Arkansas. Little Rock, the state’s capital, experienced a record number of killings in 2017.
“Right now our state is experiencing chaos and I believe this bill will bring order to that chaos,” Republican Sen. Ben Gilmore, the bill’s sponsor, told senators before the vote.
Critics, meanwhile, questioned the effectiveness of the sentencing reforms and claimed that the measure could further overcrowd the jail system. To reduce overcrowding, more than 2,000 state prisoners are being housed in local jails. The Department of Corrections estimates that the prison population in the state is at least 106 percent above capacity.
Democratic lawmakers are arguing that the legislation will only exacerbate problems in a state that already has one of the highest incarceration rates in the country.
“What this is saying is lock them up and throw away the key,” Democratic Sen. Clarke Tucker said before the vote. “That’s cheap politics, but it’s very expensive policy.”
While Republicans take action on the country’s rising crime, Democrats are making it more lenient for criminals. Most recently, President Joe Biden signed into law last month a resolution to roll back an overhaul of D.C.’s criminal code. This would lower prison sentences for a litany of offenses, including gun crimes.
