Criminal Justice

Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition and Gravel and Grist are holding a panel discussion and film screening near the site of a controversial new prison in Charleston.

On today's show, we discuss the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences' new comprehensive online tool to empower stronger youth mental health. We also learn about bugs in Candy Lee's new album and get an expert opinion on the current economy from a University of Arkansas economist.

A proposal to enact harsher penalties on undocumented people convicted of crimes has passed a vote in the Arkansas Senate. Senate Bill 426 would add as many as 20 extra years of prison time to sentences of undocumented migrants convicted of some violent crimes.

Lawmakers advanced a bill to raise punishments for people who commit violent crimes based on immigration status on Monday. In addition to automatically increasing sentences for unauthorized migrants convicted of a violent crime, Senate Bill 426 would also require state and local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration officers and forbids cities and counties from adopting sanctuary policies.

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.