Fox 16 reports that parole board member Jimmy Wallace thinks Arkansas should consider shipping prisoners out of state to reduce costs.
“We owe it to the taxpayers of Arkansas to do the job most expedient at the less cost,” Wallace says. “If an out of state can do it for $28 per day and we do it for over $60, we should explore that.”
Words of wisdom come from an unusual, source, Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, chair of the Judiciary Committee.
“We’ll look at it, but I’m leery,” Hutchinson says. “First of all it’s our responsibility as a state to protect our citizens. I think if we need to build a prison, we need to build a prison. Putting our inmates in the hands of another state and subjecting ourselves to their budget decisions and their local politics, I think is dangerous.”
Amen. Could we outsource some of our politicians to Alabama or Oklahoma?