A Catholic priest, Father Charles Thessing of Sacred Heart Church in Morrilton, was arrested March 23 for what Department of Correction officials say was an attempt to smuggle tobacco to an inmate at Death Row in the Varner Unit. He was arrested by State Police last Wednesday and released after processing at the Lincoln County Jail.

A woman who answered the phone at Sacred Heart Church in Morrilton said that Thessing would have no comment on the matter.

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Tyler said that Thessing was arrested after a pat-down search at the prison gate turned up a gallon-size freezer bag that was half-full of loose-leaf smoking tobacco. Tyler said that after the arrest, officers searched the cell of the Death Row inmate he’d been going to visit, and found what she called a small, “blackjack type” electronic game. The source of that game has not been determined, but Thessing is not suspected.

Tyler said that Thessing hasn’t been formally charged as of this writing, but added that the prosecutor is reviewing the evidence. Though most visitors to Death Row are only allowed to talk to the inmates through a glass partition, Tyler said that clergy and family members can have “contact visits.” The inmate won’t be charged and, because of that, Tyler would not release his name.

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