1. United States
2. Ark.
3. Letter

Can you hear the people sing yet? We do not want more prisons in this state. We do not want harsher punishments for prisoners. We especially do not want our incarcerated population being stripped of books and other resources for education and self-betterment. What we want, Mrs. Governor, is better social supports that will keep people out of prisons in the first place. Housing initiatives, healthcare and SNAP/WIC funding, and jobs that can provide rehabilitation and stability to formerly incarcerated people will do more to help crime in this state than a thousand prisons ever would. We don't stop crime by punishing people after the fact with increasingly harsher sentences. We stop crime by providing supports so people feel they have options. Consider this primary election your warning, Mrs. Governor. We will be coming for your seat in November, and we will do everything we can to make Arkansas a better, healthier, safer place for all Arkansans--not just the ones you deem worthy.