Criminal Justice

The bill would expand the state’s alternatives to lethal injection to include nitrogen hypoxia, alongside the electric chair, which is Arkansas’ only alternative on record.

The Arkansas Legislative session is underway next week. Scores of advocacy groups are readying their proposals for lawmakers. The Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition has three priorities for the session.

The weather outside might be frightful, but the live music is still delightful. On today's show, we learn more about a new listening session series at Underbrush Books in Rogers. Live music is also coming to us courtesy of the Ozark Mountain Music Festival. We also get an update on research on an illness that’s been spreading across the deer population across Arkansas.

In 2021, the University of Arkansas School of Social Work partnered with the Fayetteville Police Department to create co-response teams, pairing officers with trained social workers to address mental health crises. Initially met with some skepticism, the program has since proven to enhance community support.

On today's show, we hear how the University of Arkansas School of Social Work and the Fayetteville Police Department have paired up to handle mental health crises more effectively. Also, learning from a scholar at risk who works to promote the literature of women writers from Afghanistan. Plus, we have more about a report that states workers in Arkansas were owed more than $1.5 million in back wages from employers.

New research from the University of Arkansas finds that school suspensions and expulsions can lead to higher rates of depression through adolescence and into early adulthood.

Last year, Benton County received a $550,000 grant from the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance through the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program to establish a mental health court. Michelle Barrett is the county’s specialty court supervisor. She spoke with Ozarks at Large’s Jack Travis about the new program.

Josh speaks with Sarah Moore and Fernando Garcia, from the Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition, about their upcoming fundraiser on July 20th.

In this episode of I am Northwest Arkansas, host Randy Wilburn is joined by Nick Robbins, Executive Director of Returning Home - a Springdale-based organization helping people transition out of incarceration.

We sit down with Sarah Moore, Fayetteville City Council member and one of the founders of the Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition. AJRC works to end mass incarceration led by the voices of the families and individuals of those directly impacted.