Sanders’ New Appointees Assert Control of Corrections Board Amid Ongoing Legal Fight

As expected, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ newly appointed members moved swiftly to take control of the Arkansas Board of Corrections, a body that has been engaged in an open legal dispute with the governor for more than two years. At a pivotal meeting on Friday, the board’s first since Sanders appointed Jamie Barker, Nathan Lee, and Boyce Hamlet, the new majority asserted its authority by firing the board’s attorney.

The action marked a clear shift in the balance of power on the seven member board, which had previously pushed back against Sanders’ efforts to expand her control over the state prison system.

New Majority, New Leadership

Jamie Barker, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ former deputy chief of staff who left the governor’s office to work for a lobbyist two weeks before his appointment, was elected chairman of the board in the new year. The vote proceeded even though officer elections had not been placed on the agenda by Dubs Byers, who assumed the chair after Benny Magness’ term expired last month. The move gave Sanders’ allies an early advantage in shaping the board’s direction.

Barker was elected with the support of all four Sanders appointees. Byers and Alonza Jiles voted for Byers, while Byers did not cast a ballot, consistent with the long standing practice of chairs voting only to break a tie. As chairman, Barker now controls which items are placed on the board’s agenda for consideration.

Nathan Lee was elected vice chair, and Boyce Hamlet, who also serves as chair of the Post Prison Transfer Board, was elected secretary. Both are aligned with Sanders and are part of the board’s new governing majority.

Swift Reversal of Prior Board Actions

Within two hours of being elected chair, Barker adjourned the meeting and called a special session. He said the purpose was to rescind what he described as the illegal hiring of attorney Abtin Mehdizadegan and his law firm, which the board had retained to represent it in litigation against the governor. During that session, the board voted four to three to overturn its 2024 decision to hire Mehdizadegan.

Mehdizadegan is also representing the board in a separate but related lawsuit filed by Attorney General Tim Griffin. Griffin has argued that the board, then led by longtime chairman Benny Magness, violated public records laws when it hired the attorney.

Court rulings last year appeared to clear the way for the board to pay Mehdizadegan. However, Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Jim Hudson later said the state would not pay the attorney hired by the corrections board to represent it in lawsuits against the governor.

Hudson’s reasoning closely mirrored arguments Griffin has made in court. The refusal marked another setback for the board, which has been locked in a legal struggle with Sanders for more than two years over control of the state prison system. Disputes over how and whether to pay Mehdizadegan have repeatedly surfaced as part of the broader litigation tied to that power struggle.

Ahead of the special meeting, an amended agenda removed explicit reference to the lawsuit against Sanders. The rapid series of decisions prompted visible frustration from board members appointed by previous governors, who warned that the changes could weaken the board’s independence and underscored a clear shift in the direction the panel now appears poised to take.

Response From Sanders’ Office

Sanders’ spokesperson Sam Dubke said in an email that the governor selected the new board members based on their qualifications and welcomed their actions.

The governor, Dubke wrote, “is glad [her appointments] have taken this opportunity to end the Board’s distracting legal issues and focus on the mission of keeping Arkansans safe.”

Byers, however, raised concerns about the pace of the changes. In an interview, he said he did not doubt that the new members were “highly competent people,” but argued that it was premature to allow them to immediately assume officer roles.

Byers said he asked during the meeting to delay elections for 30 or 60 days to give members time to get to know one another and better understand the Department of Corrections.

“They don’t know about the Department of Corrections. They haven’t learned anything yet,” Byers said. “I’ve been on the board now for ten years, and I worked for the [Department of Corrections] for 39 years, and there’s still things … I need to learn.”

Disappointment was clear. 

What Comes Next

All eyes now turn to the future of the ongoing legal battle that began when the Board of Corrections sued over state laws passed in 2023, which shifted oversight of the Department of Corrections secretary from the board to the governor. The board argued that the laws represented an unconstitutional power grab. In the lawsuit, the board named Gov. Sanders, the corrections secretary, and the Department of Corrections as defendants, asserting that Amendment 33 of the Arkansas Constitution grants the board authority over the secretary, division directors, and the department.

Pulaski County Judge Patricia James granted summary judgment in favor of the board, declaring Acts 185 and 659 of 2023 unconstitutional and void. Sanders and Attorney General Tim Griffin have appealed the ruling, and Griffin’s case remains ongoing. However, with the board now aligned under Sanders’ appointees, questions have arisen about the litigation’s future. With both the governor and the board now sharing common interests, observers say the need for a prolonged legal fight may be greatly diminished, effectively tipping control in Sanders’ favor.