FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

18 September 2025

FRANKLIN COUNTY PRISON POSITION

"To define my position on the Franklin County Prison issue, I would like to use an analogy of a three-legged milking stool. All three legs of that stool must be at the same length, or the stool will fall over.

In relation to the "prison stool" all three legs must be the same length. One leg of that stool is the needs of the Governor, Department of Corrections and the safety and security of our communities. The second leg of that stool represents the fiscal impact on the state and our taxpayers. The final leg of the stool represents my constituents and their position of not wanting the prison and I support their decision.

As it stands right now, that stool is going to collapse since two legs are longer than the third.

The fiscal leg and the constituent leg are both longer than the Executive Branch leg. The fiscal leg is cost prohibitive, and the Legislature does not have an appetite to fund a facility costing more than 1.2 billion dollars. The constituent leg is opposed to the prison, not to mention the fact that there is an insurmountable issue with the water capacity needed.

If I am elected to the Arkansas Senate, I will need to work with all three legs to find a solution. It will be a daunting task to accomplish but we must work together. This problem did not happen overnight, and it won't get fixed overnight. I believe we can fund a prison, find a location more acceptable to the public that can also meet the water capacity needs.

For the good of our state, our safety and security and the ability to enforce the rule of law we must work together to resolve this problem."

Mark H. Berry

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