Op-ed piece submitted by Marilyn Moore
Governor Sanders may still believe that a new prison in Franklin County is the best opportunity for the state to grow its prison bed capacity. That is important because it makes one thing clear: the future of Franklin County is not completely settled until we hear more from the governor directly.
However, according to recent reporting by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the proposed Franklin County Mega Prison has been canceled, with corrections officials reportedly working instead on plans to expand existing correctional facilities.
For those of us who have spent nearly two years asking questions, digging through records, attending hearings, and speaking up, this is very significant news.
The work of the grassroots movement was always about doing what we believed was best for Franklin County and the River Valley—and being responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars.
It was about asking whether a project of this size, cost, and impact was truly the right choice for our local communities. It was about making sure the facts were known and the questions were asked.
And above all, it was about a community refusing to be silent when it believed something this important deserved a closer look.
From the beginning, there were serious questions about the proposed 3,000-bed prison. Was there enough water? What about wastewater? Roads? Emergency services? Law enforcement? Where would the workers come from? What would it cost taxpayers? And perhaps most importantly, was the site properly investigated before millions of dollars were committed?
Those were reasonable questions.
The Franklin County & River Valley Coalition was organized to bring those concerns together and demand answers. Much of the work involved Freedom of Information Act requests, reviewing records, and taking what was found directly to government officials.
This was grassroots and volunteer-driven!
There was no large organization writing checks to make this happen. Local citizens donated money to pay expenses, while volunteers gave countless hours of their time.
TAKING OUR CONCERNS TO THE BOARD OF CORRECTIONS
The coalition didn’t just raise concerns from Franklin County. We took those concerns directly to the Arkansas Board of Corrections in Little Rock.
We asked the Board of Corrections to do its due diligence, slow down, and take a closer look at the proposed site and the process that led to its selection, explaining the concerns the community had uncovered through Arkansas Freedom of Information Act requests. We weren’t asking the board to simply take our word for it. Those records raised questions about how the Franklin County site had been selected and about the process surrounding that decision.
The coalition urged the Board of Corrections to consider whether the project was truly in the best interest of Franklin County, the River Valley, and Arkansas taxpayers before moving forward with such a massive commitment of public money.
Although Lee Watson tried to be a voice of reason, the Board of Corrections still forged full speed ahead, wasting even more valuable tax dollars under immense political pressure.
THE FIGHT FOR TRANSPARENCY
Attorney Joey McCutchen provided legal counsel and representation in litigation involving the City of Fort Smith and public records concerning discussions about the prison’s potential water supply from Fort Smith. It was arguably one of the most glaring examples of why transparency matters.
That legal action was about something very simple: citizens have a right to know what their government is doing with public resources.
The case never went to trial. Joey McCutchen filed the lawsuit on my behalf on July 10, 2025, after questions surrounding the public records could not be resolved without legal action.
The City of Fort Smith and Acting City Administrator Jeff Dingman ultimately agreed to settle the case.
On August 5, 2025, I appeared before the Fort Smith Board of Directors during its regular meeting and addressed the board regarding the matter. The board’s agenda included a “Resolution approving Agreed Order to resolve civil action of Marilyn Moore vs. City of Fort Smith.”
The Board of Directors voted 5–1 to approve the settlement and agreed order, with Director Lee Kemp voting against it.
No profit was made from the lawsuit. The goal was never personal financial gain. The resolution of the case included a public apology from Acting City Administrator Jeff Dingman, along with the City of Fort Smith paying the costs associated with the case.
That case was never about money. It was about accountability, transparency, and the principle that citizens should not have to go to court to obtain information that belongs to the public.
The fact that the matter was settled before trial does not diminish why the lawsuit was filed. When questions about public records could not be resolved, citizens were willing to take legal action and demand transparency.
Joey McCutchen stood beside citizens in their fight for the right to know. His willingness to take on the case helped reinforce an important principle:
Government transparency is not a privilege—it is a right of the people.
GRAVEL & GRIT
Adam Watson and Natalie Cadena, through their excellent, tireless work with Gravel & Grit, spent countless hours researching the project, reviewing records, and bringing concerns about the site-selection process to lawmakers, including the Joint Performance Review Committee.
Questions that began with local residents were eventually being asked inside the Capitol.
Their work took information that was being uncovered locally and put it in front of the very people who had the ability to ask even more questions.
Some senators still voted to fund the project! But enough senators stood firm and refused to approve the funding.
ARKANSAS ALCATRAZ
J.B. Jackson, through Arkansas Alcatraz, played an important role in keeping the proposed prison in the public conversation. Through continued attention to the project, he broughtinformation, concerns, and updates to people who may not have otherwise followed the issue closely. That helped amplify the voices of local residents and kept the public informed as new questions and developments emerged.
Public awareness mattered.
When a project involves hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars and could have a lasting impact on an entire state, citizens need access to information and opportunities to hear different perspectives. Arkansas Alcatraz helped make sure those conversations continued.
THE CHICKAMAUGA NATION
The Chickamauga Nation also became an important voice in the fight over the proposed prison.
Their concerns went beyond the prison itself. They raised questions about the history, cultural significance, and preservation of the land, including concerns about archaeological resources and ancestral burial sites.
Their involvement reminded everyone that land is more than a piece of property on a map. Some places carry history and cultural meaning that cannot simply be measured in dollars, acreage, or construction costs.
The Chickamauga Nation’s voice added another important dimension to this conversation. Their concerns deserved to be heard, just as the concerns of local residents, landowners, and surrounding communities deserved to be heard.
When a project this large is proposed, every voice affected by it matters.
SENATE DISTRICT 26 SPECIAL ELECTION
Colt Shelby was another Franklin County resident willing to challenge government through the courts.
His lawsuit concerning the timing of the Senate District 26 special election was separate from the prison issue, but it demonstrated his willingness to challenge state government.
Shelby sued Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders over the timing of the special election to replace our dear late Sen. Gary Stubblefield. The lawsuit ultimately resulted in the election being moved earlier.
Shelby’s case was about representation, but it also reflected something important about the people of this region: they were willing to use every lawful avenue available to make their voices heard.
His willingness to challenge state government through the courts and continue advocating for the people of this state is part of the larger story of citizens becoming involved in the decisions that affect their communities.
Today, Colt Shelby is a candidate for governor of Arkansas.
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
Surrounding city leaders and Franklin County leaders deserved a seat at the table when decisions were being made about the future of our communities. They did not get that seat. But local governments listened to citizens.
Greenwood was the first city to pass a resolution opposing the proposed prison. The Franklin County Quorum Court and the cities of Charleston, Lavaca, and Ozark also took formal positions by passing resolutions opposing the project.
The coalition gathered those resolutions and provided them directly to government leaders and the Arkansas Board of Corrections. These resolutions made it clear that opposition to the proposed prison was not limited to a handful of individuals.
Franklin County Sheriff Johnny Crocker also raised concerns about what a 3,000-bed prison could mean for local law enforcement and public safety.
LEGISLATORS WHO LISTENED
Then came the fight over funding.
Sen. Bryan King and the late Sen. Gary Stubblefield deserve special recognition for listening to the concerns coming from Franklin County and questioning the state’s plans for the proposed mega prison.
Recognition is also deserved for Sen. Ron Caldwell, Sen. Jimmy Hickey Jr., Sen. Ricky Hill, Sen. John Payton, Sen. Clint Penzo, Sen. Terry Rice, Sen. Greg Leding, and Sen. Clarke Tucker, among others, who either questioned the project or voted against major prison funding.
It took a small group of senators willing to look at the facts and listen to their constituents to block the funding needed to move the project forward.
They didn’t all agree on every issue. But they listened. And when it mattered, they stood their ground. That is what representation is supposed to look like.
THE IMPORTANCE OF JOURNALISM
The media also played an important role in this fight.
Reporters took the concerns of local citizens seriously. They asked questions, reviewed documents, followed the money, investigated the proposed site, and reported on concerns surrounding water, infrastructure, land, funding, and the overall decision-making process.
Their work mattered! A lot!
What began as a group of local citizens asking questions eventually became a story that received attention throughout Arkansas and beyond. Great journalists gave the public information that allowed people to understand what was being proposed and why so many residents were concerned.
They didn’t simply report that a prison was being proposed. They reported on the questions surrounding it. That matters.
In an era when local journalism is becoming increasingly difficult to sustain, this experience is an important reminder of the importance of having reporters willing to listen to ordinary citizens and investigate the issues that affect their communities.
Good journalism matters. Local journalism matters. The reporters who covered this story helped make sure that the voices of Franklin County residents could not simply be ignored.
THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY
So, the news of the cancellation of the 3,000-bed prison project comes after the work of many people:
It took citizens. It took volunteers. It took local governments. It took attorneys. It took legislators. It took journalists.
And then there are countless others whose names we may never know. They emailed, they called, and they took whatever action they could to help. They were part of this community effort, too, and their voices mattered.
It took people who were willing to use their own money and spend their own time because they believed the project deserved to be questioned.
This was never about being against prisons or not in my backyard. It was about whether a 3,000-bed prison costing hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars was the right project, in the right place, for the right reasons—and whether it had been properly investigated before the state committed so much public money.
WHAT THIS FIGHT TAUGHT US
The reported cancellation of the Franklin County Mega Prison should remind all of us of something important:
Citizens still have a voice.
Government should listen before decisions are made—not after.
Major projects should be properly vetted. Water and infrastructure should be verified. The impact on surrounding communities should be considered. And taxpayers deserve transparency.
Whether the state ultimately closes the door permanently on the Franklin County site remains to be seen. But the reported cancellation is still a significant moment for the citizens who spent nearly two years asking questions and demanding answers.
Franklin County showed what can happen when people stand together and refuse to quit.
As a community and a state, we can be proud of all the people who spoke up. We can be proud of all the people who did the research. We can be proud of all the people who kept asking questions. We can be proud of the senators who stood firm.
And we can be proud that our communities refused to simply accept, “Trust us.” “It’s a done deal!”
We asked for the facts. We kept asking. And we didn’t quit.
Never underestimate what ordinary citizens can accomplish when they stand together, ask hard questions, and refuse to be silent.
